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Oceanus 


Volume  33,  Number  3,  Fall  1990 


>  * 


^~. 


^ 


-  ,  •  * 


Marine  Education 


ISSN  0029-81 82 


Oceanus 

The  International  Magazine  of  Marine  Science  and  Policy 

Volume  33,  Number  3,  Fall  1990 


Paul  R.  Ryan,  Editor 
Kathy  S.  Frisbee,  Editorial  Assistant 
Carol  Smith,  Editorial  Intern 
Darshan  Wozena,  Editorial  Intern 

Robert  W.  Bragdon,  Advertising  Coordinator 
Editorial  Advisory  Board 


1930 


Robert  D.  Ballard,  Director  of  the  Center  for  Marine  Exploration,  WHOI 

lames  M.  Broadus,  Director  of  the  Marine  Policy  Center,  WHOI 

Henry  Charnock,  Professor  of  Physical  Oceanography,  University  of  Southampton,  England 

Gotthilf  Hempel,  Director  of  the  Alfred  Wegener  Institute  for  Polar  Research,  West  Germany 

Charles  D.  Hoi  lister,  Vice-President  and  Associate  Director  for  External  Affairs,  WHOI 

John  Imbrie,  Henry  L.  Doherty  Professor  of  Oceanography,  Brown  University 

John  A.  Knauss,  U.S.  Undersecretary  for  the  Oceans  and  Atmosphere,  NOAA 

Arthur  E.  Maxwell,  Director  of  the  Institute  for  Geophysics,  University  of  Texas 

Timothy  R.  Parsons,  Professor,  Institute  of  Oceanography,  University  of  British  Columbia,  Canada 

Allan  R.  Robinson,  Gordon  McKay  Professor  of  Geophysical  Fluid  Dynamics,  Harvard  University 

David  A.  Ross,  Chairman,  Department  of  Geology  and  Geophysics,  and  Sea  Grant  Coordinator,  WHOI 


Published  by  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution 

Guy  W.  Nichols,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
John  H.  Steele,  President  of  the  Corporation 
Charles  A.  Dana  III,  President  of  the  Associates 

Craig  E.  Dorman,  Director  of  the  Institution 


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Director's 
Statement 


he  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution  was 
established  to  be  an  international  center  for  ocean 
science.  Since  its  early  years,  the  Institution  has 
hosted  visiting  students  in  many  categories;  espe- 
cially graduate  students  conducting  thesis  research, 
postdoctoral  scholars,  and  undergraduate  summer  student  fellows. 
In  1967,  our  Charter  from  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  was 
expanded  to  include  education,  specifically  authorizing  us  to  award 
graduate  degrees.  In  the  20-plus  years  since  our  Joint  Program  with 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  was  initiated,  education 
at  the  master's,  doctoral,  and  postdoctoral  levels,  and  semester  or 
summer  research  experiences  for  undergraduates,  has  become  an 
intrinsic  part  of  our  research. 

We  are  now  finding  it  important  to  extend  our  educational 
outreach  to  a  much  broader  audience.  Ocean  science  is  exciting  and 
can  spark  the  imaginations  of  school  children;  the  oceans  are  vital  to 
our  economic  competitiveness  and  national  defense,  as  well  as  to 
global  health.  The  results  of  our  research  have  immediate  relevance 
to  major  issues  of  the  day,  and  we  must  make  them  known  to 
policymakers  and  the  public,  as  well  as  to  our  scientific  peers. 
Oceanus  itself  is  a  major  contributor  to  this  educational  process.  We 
try  to  address  topics  that  are  timely  and  important  as  well  as 
interesting. 

This  issue  discusses  both  traditional  and  innovative  programs 
in  marine  education.  In  our  usual  fashion,  we  make  no  attempt  to 
be  complete.  Our  interest  is  in  giving  you  a  feel  for  the  range  of 
activities  and  perspectives  on  the  subject. 


— Craig  E.  Dorman 
Director,  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution 


MARINE  EDUCATION 


1     Director's  Statement 
by  Craig  E.  Dorman 
The  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution  is 
extending  its  educational  outreach  to  a  much 
broader  audience  in  an  effort  to  better  inform  the 
public  on  some  of  today's  major  science  issues. 

5    Introduction: 
Marine  Education 
by  John  W.  Farrington 

The  main  challenge  facing  marine  education  is  in  the 
kindergarten  through  12  sector.  The  excitement  of 
discovery  must  be  conveyed  to  young  and  old  alike. 


Awakening  Interest  Early 


^|    ^\    Human  Resource  Trends  in  Oceanography 

J    by  Luther  Williams 

•JL  AM  There  is  a  pressing  need  to  expand  the  role  of 
women  and  minorities  in  oceanography  in  this  decade 
and  the  next.  New  National  Science  Foundation  initia- 
tives are  outlined. 


r\  /^\  Getting  Kids  Wet 

S    I    I  ty  Valerie  Chase 

^•"  V-/  The  author  reports  on  the  many  marine 
programs  in  place  for  kindergarten  through  12  youth, 
which  include  history,  literature,  song,  and  art,  as  well  as 
earth,  life,  and  physical  science. 


Women  in  Ocean  Science 


. 


Individual  Graduate  Project 


^\  ^^  Editorial: 

J     /     A  Proposal  to  Meet  Education  Challenges 
^—  /       by  Arthur  R.  M.  Nowell  and  Charles  D.  Hollister 
The  authors  call  for  the  oceanographic  community  to 
establish  a  plan  to  meet  the  education  challenges  facing 
the  field.  They  outline  five  activity  areas  as  a  basis  for 
such  a  plan. 


Copyright  ©  1990  by  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic 
Institution.  Oceanus  (ISSN  0029-8182)  is  published  in  March, 
June,  September,  and  December  by  the  Woods  Hole  Oceano- 
graphic Institution,  9  Maury  Lane,  Woods  Hole,  Massachusetts 
02543.  Second-class  postage  paid  at  Falmouth,  Massachusetts; 
Windsor,  Ontario;  and  additional  mailing  points. 

POSTMASTER:  Send  address  change  to  Oceanus  Sub- 
scriber Service  Center,  P.O.  Box  6419,  Syracuse,  NY  13217. 


Headings  and  Readings 


? 


Research  at  Sea 


Undergraduate  and  Graduate  Education 
in  Oceanography  by  Arthur  R.  M.  Nowell 
and  Charles  D.  Hollister 

The  field  of  oceanography  offers  rich  personal  rewards 

for  students  pursuing  advanced  degrees. 


Sea  Grant's  Role  in  Marine  Education 

by  Robert  D.  Wildman  and  David  A.  Ross 
The  authors  outline  Sea  Grant's  multiple 
approaches  to  promoting  marine  science  education  at 
all  levels  in  our  society  and  at  our  universities  and 
institutions. 


The  Ocean  as  a  Classroom 

by  Susan  Humphris 

The  author  describes  the  benefits  of  practical 
learning  experiences  at  sea  whereby  students  are  ex- 
posed to  the  realities  of  working  within  the  ocean 
systems  they  are  studying  firsthand. 


Muses  in  the  Rigging 

ty  Tom  Goux 

The  sea  is  music  and  music  is  a  great  tool  in 
learning  about  maritime  history.  The  author  describes 
the  power  of  music  in  educating  people  about  the  joys, 
dangers,  and  laments  of  seafaring  life. 


Science  in  the  Lab 


Diving  for  Zooplankton 


LETTERS 
BOOKS 


The  Changing  Face  of  Maritime  Education 

by  Geoff  Motte 

Maritime  academies,  facing  declining  enroll- 
ments, are  offering  degrees  in  less  traditional  pursuits, 
such  as  facilities  and  plant  engineering. 

Scientific  Illiteracy 

by  Joseph  Levine 

_      The  author  finds  that  the  teaching  profession  is 
largely  to  blame  for  the  public's  scientific  illiteracy — 40 
percent  of  whom  cannot  locate  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  a  map. 


THE  COVER  is  a  graphite  drawing  by  Ron  Bolt,  a  Canadian  artist.  It 
first  appeared  in  the  book  The  Inner  Ocean,  and  was  entitled 
"Alexander's  Rag  Time  Boat,"  ©  1979.  Other  credits  appear  on  page  38. 

3 


The  Unchanging  Image 
of  the  Scientist 


Children's  ideas  about  scientists  have  changed  little 
during  the  last  30  years.  In  1957,  Mead  and  Metraux 
summarized  the  views  of  about  35,000  high  school  students, 
noting  consistently  shared  characteristics,  and  then  a  division 
between  a  positive  and  negative  image: 

Shared  Image 

The  scientist  is  a  man  who  wears  a  white  coat  and  works 
in  a  laboratory.  He  is  elderly  or  middle  aged  and  wears 
glasses.. .He  may  be  bald.  He  may  wear  a  beard,  may  be 

(continued  on  page  10) 


o 


ft 


o 


Ofi 


w 


Introduction 

Marine 


Education 


by  John  W.  Farrington 

A  cascade  of  recent  studies  has  made  it  abundantly  clear  that  by  both 
national  and  international  standards  and  world  norms,  U.S.  education  is 
failing  too  many  students  -  and  hence  failing  the  nation.  By  all  accounts, 
America  has  no  more  urgent  priority  than  the  reform  of  education  in  science, 
mathematics,  and  technology. 

— Science  for  All  Americans — Summary  of  the  American  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science-Project  2061. 1989. 


y  desk  and  bookshelves  are  over- 
flowing with  recent  reports  and 
articles  produced  by  government, 
industry,  and  independent  groups, 
all  providing  a  constant  reminder  of 
the  above  quote  and  the  serious- 
ness of  the  challenge  that 
confronts  those  of  us 
engaged  in 
science,  math- 
ematics, and 


=  Rcxp  (iS/h) 

' 


/(?)  exp  ( -  in)dt  =  (In)  ~  l      f(t)  exp  ( -  irt)dt. 


"What's 
missing  in 

science 
education  is 
the  AAAHl, 
the  excite- 
ment of  doing 
science  with 
your  hands 
and  your 
eyes." 


engineering  education — indeed  confronts  all  citizens  of  the  United 
States. 

These  reports  identify  the  main  education  challenges  as  being  in 
the  kindergarten  through  12th  grade  (K-12)  sector,  and  in  under- 
graduate education.  We  need  to  go  beyond  survey  and  introduction 
courses  and  ensure  that  our  young  people  are  on  intimate  terms  not 
only  with  scientific,  mathematical,  and  engineering  principles,  but 
with  the  process  by  which  research  and  discovery  proceed.  A  key 
element  in  this  advancement  is  the  transition  from  new  knowledge 
to  technology,  policy,  and  management. 

How  else  will  our  youth  be  prepared  to  bring  rational  reason- 
ing to  such  issues  as  global  climate  change,  energy  re- 
sources, genetic  engineering,  biomedical  research,  waste 
disposal  problems,  defense  technology,  space  exploration,  utiliza- 
tion of  ocean  resources,  and  as  yet  undreamed  of  challenges? 
Simultaneously,  we  must  provide  enhanced  continuing  education 
for  our  adult  population.  This  population  must  be  made  aware  of 
present  advances  in  our  understanding  and  the  limits  of  our  knowl- 
edge. 

It  is  thus  appropriate  and  timely  for  Oceanus  to  devote  this  issue 
to  Marine  Education.  As  readers  will  quickly  realize  by  scanning 
the  table  of  contents,  this  issue  examines  a  wide  range  of  marine 
education  activities. 

A  common  theme  throughout  this  issue  is  the  use  of  the  oceans 
as  a  means  of  teaching  the  fundamentals  of  science  and  the  scientific 
process.  "What's  been  missing  in  science  education  is  the,  AAAH!, 
the  excitement  of  doing  science  with  your  hands  and  your  eyes," 
according  to  Robin  Hogen,  Executive  Vice  President  of  the  Merck 
Co.  Foundation  as  quoted  this  spring  in  Fortune  magazine's  special 
issue  on  Saving  Our  ScJiools,  "We've  tried  to  give  kids  the  experi- 
ence of  discovery  so  they  can  learn  by  manipulating  and  doing." 
Susan  Humphris'  article,  "The  Ocean  as  a  Classroom:  The  Role 
of  Practical  Experience  in  Science  Education"  (page  46),  has 
this  as  the  central  theme.  Her  statements  on  the  use  of  the 
diversity  and  complexity  of  the  ocean  to  introduce  undergraduate 
students  "to  the  excitement  of  discovery"  address  a  central  tenant  of 
much  of  the  movement  toward  revitalization  of  science  education  in 
the  United  States — involve  the  students  in  the  process  of  scientific 
inquiry.  Luther  Williams  eloquently  supports  this  point  when 
discussing  careers  in  his  article.  He  describes  several  National 
Science  Foundation  (NSF)  programs  aimed  at  providing  students  of 
all  ages  with  a  research  experience. 

The  discovery  theme  is  rampant  in  the  article  "Getting  Kids 
Wet,"  by  Valerie  Chase,  about  marine  education  for  grades  K-12 
(what  a  delightful,  appropriate  title — I  was  tempted  to  entitle  this 
introduction  "Getting  Everyone  Wet"  after  reading  her  article — see 
page  20.)  The  romantic  allure  of  the  sea  and  its  part  in  human 
endeavors  are  delightfully  woven  throughout  Tom  Goux's  "Muses 


in  the  Rigging"  (page  52).  His  infectious  enthusiasm  for  music 
education  and  the  sea  reminds  us  that  marine  education  should  not 
be  construed  only  as  science  and  engineering,  but  encompasses  the 
arts  and  humanities.  He  reminds  us  that  interactions  of  people  and 
the  sea,  and  of  the  sea  alone,  are  integral  parts  of  the  body  of  works 
in  the  arts  and  humanities. 

Luther  Williams,  in  his  article,  and  Robert  Wildman  and  David 
Ross,  in  their's,  illuminate  the  substantial  role  of  the  Sea  Grant 
program  in  Marine  Education  on  a  national  and  local  basis 
(see  page  39).  They  provide  compelling  statistics  about  the  serious 
shortfalls  in  the  numbers  of  scientists  and  engineers  projected  for 
the  United  States  by  the  end  of  the  20th  century,  if  current  trends  of 
decreasing  interest  in  these  careers  are  coupled  with  the  demo- 
graphic downtrend  in  numbers  of  college  age  students. 

Wildman  and  Ross  also  highlight  a  very  important  problem  in 
science  and  engineering  education — the  need  for  an  expanded  and 
more  effective  effort  at  attracting  minorities  and  women  to  the 
sciences  and  engineering.  Marine  sciences  and  engineering  are  not 
exceptions  to  this  general  rule.  Progress  has  been  made  with  the 
increase  of  women  ocean  scientists  and  ocean  engineers  in  recent 
years  as  evidenced  by  graduate  school  enrollments.  However,  these 
numbers  are  far  below  what  can  and  should  be  accomplished  in  the 
1990s  and  beyond.  The  role  models  are  there  in  increasing  numbers 
for  young  women  thinking  of  a  career  in  oceanography  or  ocean 
engineering.  In  addition,  much  needed  changes  in  the  working 
environment  conducive  to  enhancing  the  careers  of  female  marine 
scientists  and  engineers  have  or  are  being  implemented. 

Unfortunately,  there  has  not  been  much  progress  in  attracting 
minorities  to  the  marine  sciences,  especially  African- Americans  and 
Hispanics.  Often,  this  is  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  the  marine  sciences 
and  engineering  traditionally  emerge  as  separate  disciplines  of 
science  and  engineering  at  the  graduate  education  level  as  explained 
by  Nowell  and  Hollister  (page  31).  It  has  been  argued  that  marine 
sciences  and  engineering  cannot  do  very  much  to  increase  minority 
involvement  until  the  pool  of  undergraduate  scientists  and  engi- 
neers contains  a  better  representation  of  minorities. 

I  am  pleased  to  report  that  this  type  of  reasoning  is  heard  less 
frequently  and  has  no  credibility.  Ocean  sciences  and  engineer- 
ing share  with  all  scientific  and  engineering  disciplines  the 
responsibility  to  attract  minorities  to  sciences,  mathematics,  and 
engineering  by  the  types  of  efforts  described  in  the  articles  in  this 
issue.  Wildman  and  Ross  are  correct.  "These  small  numbers  of 
minorities  in  the  sciences  are  a  national  shame;  there  are  scientific 
opportunities  for  women  and  minorities  in  science,  particularly  in 
marine  sciences,  that  should  be  tapped.  Indeed,  if  the  predicted 
shortfall  is  to  be  avoided,  large  numbers  of  women  and  minorities 
must  be  attracted  to  scientific  or  technical  careers."  Williams 
reports  on  some  of  the  NSF  programs  aimed  at  encouraging  African 


There  is  a 

need  to 

attract  more 

minorities 

and  women  in 

marine 
science  and 
engineering 


We  need  to 

increase 

efforts  to  use 

the  oceans  as 

a  means  of 

general 
education  in 
the  sciences. 


American,  Hispanic,  and  Native  American  students  to  complete 
undergraduate  degrees  and  pursue  graduate  degrees  in  all  science 
and  engineering  fields. 

Nowell  and  Hollister  report  on  general  aspects  of  undergradu- 
ate and  graduate  education  in  oceanography.  Their  article  provides 
sound  advice  for  students  interested  in  a  graduate  education  in 
terms  of  what  is  the  best  undergraduate  preparation.  They  explain 
why  there  is  less  emphasis  on  undergraduate  education  in  ocean 
sciences  as  a  separate  undergraduate  major. 

In  other  articles  and  reports  on  education,  there  is  a  general 
tendency  to  state  that  graduate  education  in  the  sciences  and 
engineering  in  the  United  States  is  in  great  shape.  The  only 
problem  reported  seems  to  be  the  lack  of  sufficiently  well-qualified 
United  States  students  in  great  enough  numbers.  An  increasing 
percentage  of  science,  mathematics,  and  engineering  graduate 
students  in  U.S.  graduate  schools  is  from  other  countries.  The 
foreign  students  contribute  effectively  to  research  in  the  United 
States  and  some  remain  after  graduate  school  to  enhance  U.S. 
science  and  technology  in  the  great  tradition  of  the  U.S.  "melting 
pot." 

However,  the  demographic  trend  of  decreasing  numbers  of  U.S. 
college-age  students  projected  during  the  next  decade,  coupled  with 
the  current  trend  of  decreasing  interest  in  sciences  and  mathematics 
among  entering  freshman,  provide  compelling  evidence  that  a 
shortfall  in  qualified,  much  needed  graduate  students  is  occurring 
now  and  will  be  exacerbated  in  the  next  10  years  unless  counter- 
measures  are  put  in  place.  The  major  and  urgent  countermeasure  is 
set  forth  in  this  quote  from  Wildman  and  Ross:  "If  the  predicted 
shortfall  is  to  be  avoided,  large  numbers  of  women  and  minorities 
must  be  attracted  to  scientific  and  technical  careers." 

These  are  tumultuous  times  in  science,  mathematics,  and 
engineering  education  in  the  United  States,  especially  for  K-12  and 
the  undergraduate  years.  Several  challenges  have  emerged  that 
require  simultaneous  attention.  THIS  IS  A  NATIONAL  PRIORITY! 
We  cannot  afford  to  gamble  with  the  well-being  of  our  young 
people  in  terms  of  providing  them  with  less  than  the  very  best 
education,  not  only  in  the  sciences,  but  in  all  subjects. 

Our  efforts  should  not  be  aimed  at  only  an  elite  few  of  the 
best  students  in  the  sciences,  mathematics,  and  engineering, 
but  should  encompass  all  students.  Sheila  Tobias,  in  her 
recent  report  "They're  Not  Dumb,  They're  Different.  Stalking  the 
Second  Tier,"  published  by  the  Research  Corporation,  covers  this 
important  subject.  She  quotes  Shirley  M.  Malcolm,  head  of  the 
Directorate  for  Education  and  Human  Resources  Programs  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  in 
February's  Scientific  American;  "  Who  will  do  science?  That  de- 
pends on  who  is  included  in  the  talent  pool.  The  old  rules  do  not 


x 


work  in  the  new  reality.  It's  time  for  a  different  game  plan  that 
brings  new  players  in  off  the  bench." 

Part  of  the  different  game  plan  should  involve  an  expansion  of 
efforts  to  use  the  oceans  as  a  means  of  general  education  in  the 
sciences.  As  will  be  readily  apparent  from  reading  the  articles  in 
this  issue,  some  very  enthusiastic  and  dedicated  people  with 
innovative  ideas  are  meeting  the  challenges  in  science,  mathematics, 
and  technology  education  by  using  the  oceans  as  a  classroom  and  as 
subject  material. 

Let  us  hope  that  more  of  our  young  people  will  "get  wet"  and 
discover  the  excitement  of  ocean  sciences  and  the  excitement  and 
importance  of  science,  mathematics,  and  engineering  in  general. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  young  people  are  ready.  The  key  question  is 
whether  or  not  adults  individually,  in  small  groups,  and  in  a 
national  context  will  provide  the  much  needed  encouragement  and 
means  for  our  young  people  to  realize  their  vast  potentials. 


Research  on  Naushon 

Island,  part  of  the 
Elizabeth  chain  near 
Woods  Hole,  on  the 
effects  of  an  oil  spill. 
Some  of  the  partici- 
pants were  American 
Indians  from  a  South- 
ern Utah  State  College 

Upward  Bound 

Summer  program,  held 

at  WHOI  during  the 

summer  of  1990. 


John  W.  Farrington  is  Associate  Director  for  Education  and  Dean  of 
Graduate  Studies  at  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution.  A 
former  Senior  Scientist  in  the  Chemistry  Department  at  WHOI,  and 
Professor  at  the  University  of  Massachusetts/Boston,  his  back- 
ground is  in  chemistry  and  chemical  oceanography. 


(continued  from  page  4) 

unshaven  and  unkempt.  He  may  be  stooped  and  tired.. .He  is 
surrounded  by  equipment:  test  tubes,  bunsen  burners,  flasks  and 
bottles,  a  jungle  gym  of  blown  glass  tubes  and  weird  machines 
with  dials.. .He  spends  his  days  doing  experiments.  He  pours 
chemicals  from  one  test  tube  into  another. .  .He  experiments  with 
plants  and  animals,  cutting  them  apart,  injecting  serum  into 
animals... 

Positive  Image 

He  is  a  very  intelligent  man-a  genius.  He  has  long  years  of 
expensive  training.  He  is  interested  in  his  work  and  takes  it 
seriously.  He  works  for  long  hours  in  the  laboratory/,  sometimes 
day  and  night,  going  without  food  and  sleep. .  .He  is  prepared  to 
work  for  years  without  getting  results.  One  day  he  might 
straighten  up  and  shout:  "I've  found  it!  I've  found  it!"  ...Through 
his  work  people  will  be  healthier  and  live  lojiger,  they  will  have 
new  and  better  products  to  make  life  easier  and  pleasanter  at 
home,  and  our  country  will  be  protected  from  enemies  abroad. 

Negative  Image 

The  scientist  is  a  brain.  He  spends  his  days  indoors,  sitting 
in  a  laboratory,  pouring  things  from  one  test  tube  into  another. 
His  work  is  uninteresting,  dull,  monotonous,  tedious,  time 
consuming. .  .he  may  live  in  a  cold  water  flat..  .His  work  may  be 
tedious.  Chemicals  may  explode.  He  may  be  hurt  by  radiation  or 
may  die.  If  he  does  medical  research,  he  may  bring  home  disease, 
or  may  use  himself  as  a  guinea  pig,  or  may  even  accidentally  kill 
someone. .  .He  is  so  involved  with  his  work  that  he  doesn't  know 
what  is  going  on  in  the  world.  He  has  no  other  interests  and 
neglects  his  body  for  his  mind. .  .He  has  no  social  life,  no  other 
intellectual  interests,  no  hobbies  or  relaxations.  He  bores  his 
wife. .  .He  brings  home  work  and  also  bugs  and  creepy  things. 

Based  on  their  analysis,  Mead  and  Metraux  suggested  that 
the  mass  media  should  emphasize  the  real,  human  rewards  of 
science,  the  enjoyment  of  group  work,  and  how  science  works. 
Schools,  they  said,  should: 

•  emphasize  participation  in  the  classroom  rather  than 

passive  learning; 

•  emphasize  group  projects; 

•  teach  science  as  immediately  pertinent  to  human  values, 

living  things,  and  the  natural  world; 

•  teach  mathematical  principles  much  earlier; 


10 


•  provide  teachers  who  enjoy  and  are  proficient  in  science; 

•  make  sure  that  teaching  and  counseling  encourage  girls; 

•  de-emphasize  the  rare  individual  geniuses  of  science,  such 

as  Einstein,  to  make  science  more  accessible  to  the 
average  child  and  emphasize  the  individual  sciences  as 
broad  fields  of  endeavor; 

•  avoid  talking  about  "Science,  Scientists,  and  the  Scientific 

Method"  as  a  whole,  and  rather,  talk  about  individual 
fields  and  what  different  methods  are;  and 

•  emphasize  life  sciences,  humans,  and  other  living  things  to 

make  science  more  immediate  to  children. 

Children  of  the  1980s  held  images  of  science  and  scientists 
that  were  essentially  unchanged  from  those  of  the  1950s.  In  1986, 
researchers  at  Harvard  University's  Educational  Technology 
Center  applied  Mead  and  Metraux's  methodology  to  another 
generation  of  potential  scientists.  They  reported  that: 

Most  responses  sounded  familiar:  scientists  are  nerds  and 
science  is  important  but  boring.  The  students  had  little  inkling  of 
the  day-to-day  intellectual  activities  of  scientists,  of  what  experi- 
ments are  for,  or  of  the  social  nature  of  the  scientific  enterprise. 


—From  Educating 
Scientists  and 

Engineers:  Grade 
School  to  Grad 

School  1988,  U.S. 

Congress,  Office 

of  Technology 

Assessment. 


11 


Human  Resource 

Trends  in 
Oceanography 


"The  human  mind  is  not  withheld  from  penetrating 
into  the  dark  secrets  of  the  ocean" 

-Sir  Charles  Lyell,  1830 

by  Luther  Williams 

uman  eyes  first  beheld  those  dark  sea  secrets  in  1960 

when  Jacques  Piccard  and  Navy  Lieutenant  Don 

Walsh  descended 

10,900  meters  below 

the  surface  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean  in  the  bathyscaphe 
Trieste.  In  that  same  year,  Harry 
Hammond  Hess  presented  his 
theory  of  seafloor  spreading  and  the 
United  States  launched  its  first 
weather  satellite,  TIROS  1.  Thus 
began  a  decade  of  unprecedented 
investigation  and  discovery  in 
oceanography,  and  in  science  and 
engineering  in  general.  A  new 
President  emboldened  Americans  to 
"explore  the  stars,  conquer  the 
deserts,  eradicate  disease,  tap  the 
ocean  depths,"  and  they  did. 
Throughout  the  1960s,  as 
federal  and  private  support  of 
research  and  education  expanded, 
steadily  increasing  numbers  of  new 
scientists  and  engineers  graduated 
from  U.S.  colleges  and  universities 
at  all  levels.  Oceanography  was  a 
relatively  new  field,  with  education 
closely  tied  to  research.  Yet  the  few 
undergraduate  programs  there  were 


At  right,  the  bathyscaphe  Trieste  prior 
to  its  record  dive  of  35,800  feet  in  the 
Mariana  Trench  off  Guam,  in  1960. 


12 


400- 


Degrees  in  Oceanography 


350- 


300- 


250- 


200- 


150- 


100- 


50- 


I 

sO  CO  O 

*^D         '**&         r^ 
o^         o^         o^ 


B.S. 


expanded  dramatically.  The 
number  of  baccalaureate  degrees 
awarded  in  oceanography 
increased  to  more  than  350  in 
1972  from  less  than  20  in  1966. 
And  the  increases  at  the  master's 
and  doctoral  levels  mirrored 
increases  in  the  other  science  and 
engineering  fields. 

Throughout  the  decade, 
students  pursued  their  fascina- 
tion with  science  and  technology. 
America  enjoyed  an  unprec- 
edented period  of  research 
vitality  and  economic  prosperity. 
After  1973,  however,  U.S.  eco- 
nomic growth  slowed.  In  the 
sciences  and  engineering,  the 
number  of  new  graduates 

dropped  off.  It  was  not  until  1981  that  the  number  of  students 
graduating  with  science  degrees  began  to  increase  again.  And 
today,  there  are  still  fewer  new  scientists  earning  degrees  at  all 
levels  than  in  the  early  1970s. 

As  in  other  science  fields,  the  number  of  students  earning 
degrees  in  oceanography  increased  in  the  '60s  and  de- 
creased in  the  70s.  In  1983,  the  number  of  students  earning 
bachelor's  and  master's  degrees  in  oceanography  reached  their  lows 
at  128  and  103,  respectively.  The  increases  in  the  '80s  have  been 
variable  and  relatively  small.  Only  at  the  doctoral  level  was  there  a 
steady  increase  in  the  number  of  new  oceanographers,  an  increase 
exhibited  by  few  other  science  fields. 

Women,  too,  displayed  increasing  interest  in  oceanography.  In 
1966,  just  one  woman  earned  a  bachelor's  degree  in  oceanography; 
only  six  earned  master's  degrees;  none  earned  a  Ph.D.  Twenty-two 
years  later,  83  women  received  degrees  in  oceanography,  evenly 
divided  among  bachelor's,  master's,  and  doctorates.  Still,  women 
remain  underrepresented  in  oceanography,  though  no  more  so  than 
in  science  and  engineering  in  general. 

Yet  the  number  of  minorities  earning  degrees  in  oceanography 
remains  notably  small  even  when  compared  to  other  science  fields. 
Between  1975  and  1988,  only  two  Blacks  and  two  Native  Americans 
received  doctorates  in  oceanography,  marine  sciences,  or  water 
resources.  Only  13  Hispanics  earned  doctorates  during  that  period, 
and  even  Asians,  who  are  overrepresented  in  most  other  sciences, 
are  underrepresented  in  oceanography.  Between  1975  and  1988, 
only  20  Asians  earned  Ph.D.s  in  the  field,  1  percent  of  all  doctorates 
awarded. 

Clearly,  there  is  a  need  to  expand  the  participation  in  oceanog- 


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13 


Women  and 

minorities 

represent  a 

vast  and 

largely 

untapped 

reservoir  of 

talent  for 

oceanography. 


raphy.  The  composition  of  the  population  is  changing.  Already  in  a 
number  of  states,  more  than  half  the  student  population  is  non- 
white.  And  by  the  middle  of  the  next  century,  "minorities"  will 
comprise  more  than  50  percent  of  the  total  U.S.  population.  By  the 
end  of  this  century,  only  15  percent  of  the  new  entrants  to  the  labor 
force  will  be  white  males.  Women  and  minorities  represent  a  vast 
and  largely  untapped  reservoir  of  talent. 

To  sustain  the  vitality  of  the  nation's  efforts  in  all  fields  includ- 
ing oceanography,  the  research  and  education  communities 
need  to  improve  their  ability  to  recruit  and  retain  minority 
and  women  students.  To  assist  researchers  and  educators  in  this 
task,  the  National  Science  Foundation  (NSF)  has  initiated  a  number 
of  new  human  resource  development  programs  in  the  past  decade 
-  focused  programs  such  as  Research  Opportunities  for  Women, 
Minority  Research  Initiation  and  Career  Advancement  Awards, 
Research  Careers  for  Minority  Scholars,  and  Assistantships  for 
Minority  High  School  Students. 

For  example,  NSF  is  currently  supporting  a  two-year  project  at 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill  that  enables  minor- 
ity college  students  to  learn  about  earth,  ocean,  and  environmental 
sciences  during  the  summer.  And  the  Alliances  for  Minority 
Participation  program,  begun  this  year,  will  encourage  Black, 
Hispanic,  and  Native  American  undergraduates  to  complete  their 
baccalaureate  degrees  and  pursue  graduate  studies  in  all  science 
and  engineering  fields.  This  program  promotes  alliances  both 
among  program  participants  and  sponsors  -  -  minority  and  major- 
ity 2-  and  4-year  colleges  and  universities,  school  administrators, 
other  federal  agencies,  industry,  and  private  foundations. 

Yet,  our  focused  human  resource  and  education  programs  are 
only  one  way  in  which  NSF  influences  students'  decisions  regarding 
research  careers.  Employment  opportunities  and  prospects  are 
powerful  incentives  for  students  choosing  fields  of  study.  For  those 
considering  science,  the  level  of  public  and  private  support  for 
research  is  crucially  important. 

Uncertainties  about  federal  research  funding  can  discourage 
students  from  pursuing  studies  in  science.  In  oceanogra- 
phy, especially,  this  is  an  important  concern.  Research  and 
development  (R&D)  are  the  primary  work  activities  of  most  ocean- 
ographers.  Sixty  percent  of  all  those  employed  are  involved  in 
R&D;  more  than  half  engaged  in  basic  research.  By  contrast,  only 
about  20  percent  of  all  other  employed  scientists  are  involved  in 
R&D,  and  only  about  a  quarter  of  those  are  engaged  in  basic  re- 
search. 

Employment  opportunities  for  oceanographers  are  increasingly 
concentrated  in  colleges,  universities,  and  federal  facilities.  Only 
about  15  percent  of  all  oceanographers  were  employed  by  industry 
in  1988  compared  to  more  than  70  percent  a  decade  earlier.  In  1988, 
more  than  40  percent  of  all  oceanographers  were  employed  at 


14 


academic  institutions;  25 
percent  were  federally 
employed.  By  contrast,  only 
about  30  percent  of  all 
scientists  were  employed  in 
the  academic  and  federal 
sectors  combined.  Ocean- 
ography, more  than  other 
fields,  relies  on  federal 
academic  research  funding 
to  sustain  its  vitality  and 
progress. 

Moreover,  NSF  is 
the  primary 
source  of  basic 
research  funding  in  ocean- 
ography, providing  almost 
70  percent  of  the  federal 
funding.  President  Bush's 
plan  to  double  the  National 
Science  Foundation  budget 
by  1993,  along  with  a  5-year 
NSF  budget  authorization 
enacted  by  Congress,  is  a 
positive  step  toward  easing 
some  uncertainties  about 
research  careers.  Steady 
federal  support  of  academic 
R&D  does  more  than 
simply  fund  projects;  it 
helps  create  an  environ- 
ment that  attracts  talented 
students  to  research  careers. 

Nonetheless,  the 
nation  is  unlikely 
to  resume  the  R&D 
support  pattern  of  the 
1960s.  Between  1953  and 
1969,  real  R&D  expendi- 
tures in  the  United  States, 
public  and  private  com- 
bined, increased  from  $19.7 
billion  a  year  to  $64.7  billion 
a  year  (in  1982  dollars), 
growing  at  an  average  rate 
of  almost  8  percent  a  year. 
Since  that  time,  expendi- 
tures have  increased  to  $132 


Women  in  Oceanography 


Baccalaureate  Degrees 


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Nonmonetary 

benefits  far 

outweigh 

economic 

reasons  for 

pursuing 

careers  in 

science  and 

engineering. 


billion  ($105  billion  in  1982  dollars),  but  the  average  rate  of  real 
growth  has  been  less  than  3  percent  a  year.  Constraints  on  the 
federal  budget  and  increased  commercial  competition  make  dra- 
matic increases  in  R&D  unlikely. 

The  economic  incentives  that  helped  draw  students  into  science 
and  engineering  during  the  1960s  are  not  likely  to  be  duplicated  in 
the  1990s.  Therefore,  we  must  look  elsewhere  for  ways  to  attract 
students  to  these  fields.  Where  should  we  look? 

Most  people  pursue  research  careers  in  science  and  engineering 
for  very  personal  reasons  —  curiosity,  the  intellectual  challenge, 
"because  it  seemed  the  most  fun,  because  I'm  good  at  it!"  Real 
compensation  comes  from  their  day-to-day  experiences. 
Nonmonetary  benefits  --  the  freedom,  the  intellectual  challenge,  the 
thrill  of  discovery,  and  the  chance  to  make  a  lasting  contribution  to 
knowledge  and  to  society  -  -  far  outweigh  economic  considerations. 

These  benefits  are  best  realized  firsthand.  Involving  more 
students,  especially  undergraduates,  in  real  research  is  a  good 
place  to  start.  Students  come  to  understand  the  practice  of 
science  and  engineering  by  experiencing  it  in  partnership  with  a 
faculty  member  or  as  part  of  a  group.  Research  experience  helps 
undergraduates  assess  their  strengths  and  better  choose  their  career 
goals. 

NSF  has  initiated  a  number  of  programs  to  encourage  grantees 
to  include  undergraduates  in  their  research.  Supplemental  funds 
are  available  to  support  undergraduate  researchers  on  individual 
grants,  and  undergraduates  participate  in  the  activities  of  NSF- 
sponsored  Science  and  Technology  Centers  and  Engineering 
Research  Centers. 

In  addition,  NSF  has  a  number  of  new  programs  designed  to 
strengthen  research  opportunities  for  both  faculty  and  students  at 
undergraduate  institutions.  For  example,  this  year  NSF  is  sponsor- 
ing an  "Oceanography  Short  Course  for  Instructors  of  Undergradu- 
ate Marine  Sciences"  involving  2-  and  4-year  college  faculty  in 
activities  at  the  University  of  San  Diego,  Scripps  Institution  of 
Oceanography,  and  Grossmont  Community  College. 

Still,  many  students  make  career  decisions  before  they  even 
enter  college.  Therefore,  NSF  has  extended  its  support  for 
mathematics  and  science  education  at  the  precollege  level. 
The  National  Science  Foundation  is  the  primary  source  of  federal 
funding  in  this  area,  comprising  45  percent  of  the  national  budget. 
Moreover,  education  and  human  resources  are  the  fastest  growing 
components  of  NSF's  budget,  increasing  more  than  260  percent  in 
the  last  five  years.  In  fiscal  year  1991,  NSF  plans  to  spend  more  than 
$460  million  on  these  programs. 

Our  approach  is  to  address  the  process  of  education  and  human 
resource  development  as  a  continuum  starting  at  the  elementary 
and  secondary  levels,  continuing  on  through  the  undergraduate  and 
graduate  levels  and  beyond.  Each  level  presents  different  needs 


16 


and  unique  opportuni- 
ties. The  transitions 
between  levels  also  are 
important  and  they 
require  attention. 

For  example,  the 
Young  Scholars  Pro- 
gram, initiated  in  1988, 
is  designed  to  expose 
students  in  grades  8 
through  12  to  careers  in 
science  and  engineering 
by  letting  them  work 
with  researchers.  For 
example,  this  December 
an  18-year-old  from 

Douglaston,  New  York,  will  study  the  physiological  ecology  of 
adult  and  larval  krill  in  Antarctica  with  two  senior  marine  scientists 
from  the  University  of  California,  Santa  Barbara.  Another  Young 
Scholar  from  Scott,  Louisiana,  will  study  the  antarctic  ice  sheet  with 
a  team  from  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution. 

Faculties  at  universities  and  colleges,  with  NSF  funding,  also 
are  helping  to  improve  classroom  instruction  of  mathematics 
and  science  at  the  precollege  level.  Programs  to  develop 
substantive  and  hands-on  curricula  and  to  enhance  teachers' 
competencies  in  grade  school  and  high  school  mathematics  and 
science  are  an  important  part  of  NSF's  activities.  Across  the  coun- 
try, scientists  and  engineers  at  colleges  and  universities  and  at  the 
national  laboratories,  are  developing  similar  projects  with  NSF 
support  to  help  precollege  science  and  math  teachers  better  prepare 
and  inspire  their  students.  Moreover,  NSF  supports  an  array  of 
informal  education 
projects  at  a  diverse 
collection  of  institutional 
sites. 

NSF's  new  State- 
wide Systemic  Initiative 
is  the  next  logical  step  in 
this  process.  It's  de- 
signed to  support 
wholesale  reforms  in 
mathematics  and  science 
education  at  the  state 
level  by  supporting  the 
work  of  state  officials, 
starting  with  the  gover- 
nor. This  new  initiative 
will  augment  the  NSF- 


The  young  woman 

(above)  is  preparing 

salt  marsh  samples  for 

a  spider  study  as  part 

of  a  minority  trainee 

program  at  the  Woods 

Hole  Oceanographic 

Institution  (WHO/). 

Foreign  scientists,  like 

this  Japanese  researcher 

(below),  often  conduct 

their  training  in 

WHOI's  Joint  Program 

with  MIT. 


17 


supported  teacher  training  and  curriculum  development  projects 
that  are  already  yielding  positive  results. 

We  are  lucky  that  so  many  bright  high  school  students  show  an 
interest  in  science  and  engineering.  According  to  the  Educational 
Testing  Service,  mean  SAT  scores  for  1988  examinees  planning  to 
major  in  math,  science,  or  engineering  were  18  points  higher  than 
the  population  mean  Verbal  score,  and  31  points  higher  than  the 
mean  Math  score. 

The  challenge  is  to  make  sure  that  economic  conditions  do  not 
discourage  these  students  from  pursuing  that  interest.  We  must  let 
them  know  and  experience  the  rich  personal  rewards  and  satisfac- 
tions of  participating  in  research  and  development. 

The  1990s  offer  opportunities  for  scientific  and  technological 
breakthroughs  more  far-reaching  than  those  in  the  1960s.  Exploit- 
ing those  opportunities  will  require  well-trained  and  dedicated 
researchers  in  oceanography  and  other  fields.  Sustained  basic 
research  funding,  improved  mathematics  and  science  education, 
and  increased  efforts  to  attract  and  retain  women  and  minorities  in 
research  careers  are  crucial  steps  toward  making  today's  possibili- 
ties tomorrow's  realities. 


Luther  Williams  is  the  Assistant  Director  for  Education  and  Human 
Resources  at  the  National  Science  Foundation,  Washington,  DC. 


Oceanus  Wins  2  "Ozzie"  Awards 

From  a  field  of  more  than  1,300  magazines,  Oceanus  has  been  awarded  the  1990  Gold 
Award  (first  place)  given  by  Magazine  Design  &  Production  for  Best  Redesign  of  a 
magazine  in  the  educational  category.  The  award  was  given  for  the  Spring  issue  on  the 
Mediterranean,  Vol.  33,  No.  1.  Oceanus  was  also  awarded  a  Bronze  Award  (third  place) 
in  the  Best  Cover  category  for  the  Pacific  issue,  Winter  1989/90,  Vol.  32,  No.  4. 

Magazine  Design  &  Production  is  a  monthly  publication  of  South  Wind  Publishers  in 
Kansas.  The  competition  was  open  to  all  magazines  published  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  One  of  the  principal  judges  in  the  competition  was  Marjorie  Spiegelman,  an 
award-winning  designer  from  San  Francisco  who  holds  a  graduate  degree  in  graphic 
design  from  the  Yale  School  of  Art  and  Architecture.  She  was  the  principal  designer  of 
MacWorld,  Publish!,  and  PC  World. 

The  principal  staff  of  Oceanus  during  the  period  of  the  awards  included  Paul  R.  Ryan, 
editor  and  designer,  T.  M.  Hawley,  assistant  editor  and  production  coordinator,  Sara 
Ellis,  editorial  assistant,  and  Robert  Bragdon,  advertising  coordinator.  Paul  E. 
Oberlander,  of  OberGraphics,  was  the  artist  who  conceived  and  created  the  award- 
winning  cover.  Nineteen-ninety  was  the  first  year  that  Oceanus  had  entered  the  annual 
competitions.  -  Ed. 


Taylor  &  Francis 


Contemporary  Issues  in  the  Marine  Sciences 
for  the  1990s... 

MANAGING  MARINE  ENVIRONMENTS 

Richard  A.  Kenchington, 
Great  Barrier  Marine  Park  Authority,  Australia 

This  book  introduces  readers  to  contemporary  issues  of  multiple-use  planning  and 
management  of  marine  environments  and  natural  resources.  It  draws  heavily  on  the 
experience  of  the  first  ten  years  of  Australia's  Great  Barrier  Reef  Marine  Park. 

Key  issues  of  marine  environment  and  resource  management  are  discussed  as  well  as 
methods  to  achieve  reasonable  use  of  marine  environments  and  resources.  The  author  points 
out  the  advantages  and  limitations  of  the  multiple-use  management  approach  to  marine 
environment  issues.  Ways  in  which  these  approaches  may  be  improved  by  implementation 
and  coordination  are  also  suggested. 

1990  •  175  pages  •  0-8448-1635-3  •  Hardcover  •  $49.50 


MANAGING  THE  OUTER  CONTINENTAL  SHELF  LANDS 

R.  Scott  Farrow,  with  James  M.  Broadus,  Thomas  A.  Grigalunas, 
Porter  Hoagland,  HI,  and  James  J.  Opaluch, 

School  of  Urban  and  Public  Affairs, 
Carnegie-Mellon  University,  Pittsburgh,  PA 

This  book  presents  the  issues,  institutions  and  people  associated  with  managing  the 
energy  and  mineral  resources  of  the  Outer  Continental  Shelf  of  the  United  States.  These 
lands  are  leased  by  the  government  to  oil  and  gas  companies  in  an  auction  that  generates 
billions  of  dollars  per  year  in  federal  revenue.  They  are  the  focus  of  continuous  policy 
debates. 

This  book  illustrates  the  controversy  by  demonstrating  how  carefully  thought-out  policy 
analysis,  using  modern  quantitative  methods,  provides  guidance  on  issues  such  as 
government  revenue,  hazards  to  the  environment  and  supply  of  energy. 

1990  •  320  pages  •  0-8448-1657-4  •  Hardcover  •  $45.00 
0-8448-1658-2  •  Softcover  •  $26.00 


Send  Orders  To: 

Taylor  &  Francis  •  1900  Frost  Road  •  Suite  101 

Bristol,  PA  *  19007 

Or  call,  TOLL-FREE  1-800-821-8312 

19 


A  Sea  Grant  Education 

Specialist  (above) 

discusses  marine 

adaptations  with  North 

Carolina  school 

children.  A  young  man 

(middle)  aboard  a 

Minnesota  research 

vessel  focuses  on  an 

algae  specimen.   With  a 

smile  as  wide  as  the 

reach  of  a  starfish,  a 

young  girl  (below) 

shares  her  delight  with 

a  friend. 


Getting  Kids 

*» 


Kids  talk  to  the  animals 

in  the  Great  Lakes  Sea 

Grant  Network.  In  this 

instance,  "Gulliver," a 

mechanical  gull,  talks 

back,  captivating  his 

young  listener  with  a 

humorous  discourse  on 

the  serious  subject  of 

the  environment. 


Marine 

Education 

for  grades 

K-12 


by  Valerie  Chase 


parent  in  Reno,  Nevada,  enters  his  child's 
classroom  expecting  to  see  rows  of  desks 
facing  a  teacher's  desk  and  chalkboard  only 

to  encounter  a  huge  shark  cruising  the  edges 

of  a  giant  kelp  forest  alive  with  colorful  fish  and  inverte- 
brates. Has  he  been  magically  transported  to  the  coast  of 
California?  No,  it  is  "Ocean  Week." 

The  entire  school  has  been  transformed  into  marine 


21 


Marine 

education  in 

K-12  includes 

maritime 
history,  lit- 
erature, song, 

and  art,  as 

well  as  earth, 

life,  and 

physical 

science. 


habitats,  created  by  students  using  Project  OCEAN  (Oceanic 
Classroom  Education  And  Networking),  a  curriculum  from  the 
Ocean  Alliance.  This  is  just  one  of  dozens  of  innovative  programs 
in  marine  education  available  for  classroom  teachers.  An  unex- 
pected outcome  of  this  particular  schoolwide  project  is  a  reduction 
in  absenteeism,  vandalism,  and  social  problems. 

Marine  education  in  grades  K-12  is  creative  and  fun.  It  also 
seeks  to  motivate  a  sense  of  stewardship  and  caring.  It  encompasses 
subjects  as  varied  as  maritime  history,  literature,  song,  and  art,  as 
well  as  earth,  life,  and  physical  science.  Marine  education  has 
always  been  interdisciplinary,  anticipating  a  current  trend  in 
curriculum  development. 

The  National  Marine  Educators  Association  (NMEA)  and  its  15 
chapters  have  facilitated  an  exchange  of  ideas  and  informa- 
tion by  bringing  informal  and  formal  marine  educators 
together  at  annual  conferences  and  through  its  publications,  Cur- 
rent, the  Journal  of  Marine  Education,  and  NMEA  news. 

Television  has  created  a  nationwide  interest  in  the  oceans,  and 
marine  educators  have  put  this  medium  to  work  in  classrooms 
across  North  America,  not  just  along  the  coasts.  One  way  that 
marine  education  reaches  precollege  students  is  through  the  devel- 
opment of  new  curricula.  The  National  Sea  Grant  Program  is  one 
excellent  source  (see  page  39).  There  are  many  others.  Several 
curricula  are  designed  for  formal  adoption  as  regular  science 
curricula,  teaching  basic  principles  while  studying  the  marine 
environment. 

"Marine  Science  Project  FOR  SEA"  is  a  comprehensive  marine 
science  curriculum  for  grades  K-12  developed  by  the  Marine 
Science  Center  in  Poulsbo,  Washington.  It  is  distributed  nationwide 
through  the  National  Diffusion  Network  of  the  U.S.  Department  of 
Education  in  a  program  that  includes  teacher  training.  A  smaller 
program  with  national  distribution  is  the  marine  and  aquatic  science 
curriculum  "Living  in  Water"  from  the  National  Aquarium  in 
Baltimore,  for  upper-elementary  to  middle  school  children. 

At  the  high  school  level,  oceanography  texts  and  materials 
from  the  Hawaii  Marine  Science  Studies  program  teach 
about  "The  Fluid  Earth."  A  unifying  feature  of  each  of 
these  curricula  is  the  emphasis  on  hands-on  experimentation  by 
students. 

An  alternative  approach  is  to  create  enrichment  activities  that 
supplement  regular  classroom  curricula.  For  example,  with  Project 
OCEAN  an  entire  school  takes  a  week  off  regular  topics  to  study 
oceans.  Project  WILD,  a  nationwide  program  of  environmental 
conservation  education,  recently  introduced  "Project  WILD 
Aquatic,"  which  includes  activities  in  marine  education. 

Many  marine  education  curricula  have  been  developed  and 
disseminated  by  informal  educators  or  school  districts.  One  excep- 
tion is  "Voyage  oftheMimi,"  a  highly  interdisciplinary  upper- 


22 


elementary  to  middle  school  curriculum.  It  was 
originated  by  Bank  Street  College  located  in  New 
York  City,  but  has  been  distributed  by  commercial 
publishers.  It  includes  computer  software  and 
video  tapes  and  follows  the  travels  of  scientists 
and  students  on  a  sailing  whale  research  ship. 
Mimi  is  often  supplemented  by  the  use  of  addi- 
tional content  and  hands-on  marine  science 
materials  when  it  is  adopted  as  science  curricu- 
lum. 

A  second  major  source  of  marine  education 
for  students  is  through  visits  to  informal 
educational  organizations,  such  as  aquari- 
ums, zoological  parks,  nature  and  environmental 
education  centers,  museums,  and  marine  field 
stations.  There  also  are  a  number  of  floating  field  stations,  such  as 
the  Clearwater,  a  sloop  on  the  Hudson  River,  or  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
Foundation's  workboats  and  canoes.  Programs  range  from  45- 
minute  classes  to  residential  experiences. 

Instruction  by  specialists  in  marine  science  or  maritime  history 
is  a  special  feature  of  informal  education.  Institutions  frequently 
provide  extensive  preactivities  for  classroom  use  and  teacher 
training  programs  to  enhance  the  impact  of  the  visit.  For  example, 
Monterey  Bay  Aquarium  sponsors  teacher  training  programs  each 
summer  and  does  cooperative  teacher  training  with  the  adjacent 
Hopkins  Marine  Station  of  Stanford  University. 

Improvement  of  K-12  marine  education  is  the  ultimate  goal  of 
many  programs  aimed  at  teachers,  as  well  as  students.  In  addition 
to  courses  from  informal  education  organizations,  marine  science 
training  for  elementary  and  secondary  teachers  also  is  provided  by  a 
number  of  colleges  and  universities,  particularly  those  along 
coastlines,  including  the  Great  Lakes.  These  courses  are  often 
supported  by  funding  from  the  National  Science  Foundation  (NSF), 
Sea  Grant,  the  U.S.  Geological  Survey  (USGS),  and  the  National 
Oceanographic  and  Atmospheric  Administration  (NOAA). 

One  of  the  most  exciting  aspects  of 
many  courses  is  a  strong  compo- 
nent of  field  work  in  the  marine 
environment.  One  NOAA-sponsored 
program  at  the  Marine  Resources  Devel- 
opment Foundation  in  Florida  even 
includes  an  overnight  stay  in  an  underwa- 
ter habitat.  Program  announcements  for 
these  courses  may  be  found  in  the  Na- 
tional Science  Teachers  Association  NSTA 
Reports!  and  in  the  summer  and  academic 
year  opportunities  issues  of  the  NMEA 
News. 


•J    '  / 

^a  ./ 


From  their  study  of  the 

anatomy  of  marine 

organisms,  students 

begin  to  discover  how 

much  of  our  world  is 

influenced  by  the 

oceans. 


A  very  strong 
conservation 

message  is 

included  in 
most  marine 

education 
programs  and 

curricula. 


The  U.S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  (USFWS)  also  is  becoming 
involved  with  marine  education  through  its  funding  of  aquatic 
resource  education  programs  with  the  taxes  collected  on  boat  gas 
and  imported  fishing  tackle.  While  the  initial  emphasis  was  on 
freshwater  environments,  marine  education  also  is  receiving  atten- 
tion in  coastal  states.  The  programs  are  actually  run  by  state 
departments  of  fish  and  game  or  natural  resources. 

Additional  help  for  marine  education  comes  from  a  wide 
variety  of  federal  agencies  that  support  research  on  marine 
environments,  organisms,  or  problems.  These  include  the 
Environmental  Protection  Agency  (EPA),  federal  marine  and 
estuarine  sanctuaries  (NOAA),  or  coastal  wildlife  refuges  (USFWS), 
as  well  as  similar  state  agencies.  A  welcome  trend  in  marine 
education  is  action-oriented  projects  for  students.  During 
"Coastweek"  in  the  fall,  many  schools  help  with  beach  cleanup 
programs  coordinated  nationwide  by  the  Center  for  Marine  Conser- 
vation. In  addition  to  cleaner  beaches,  the  data  cards  filled  out  at 
beach  sweeps  help  identify  specific  sources  of  marine  debris. 

Other  action  projects  include  planting  forest  buffer  strips  along 
estuarine  shores,  water-quality  monitoring  programs  that  send 
data  to  marine  labs  or  government  agencies,  wetland  restoration, 
planting  beach  grasses  or  submerged  vegetation,  and  wetland 
reconstruction.  Many  students  are  choosing  science  fair  projects 
with  a  marine  theme.  In  addition  to  regular  science  fair  competi- 
tion, these  projects  may  be  featured  in  statewide  high  school  marine 
science  symposia,  often  sponsored  by  marine  laboratories  and 
marine  education  organizations.  The  Massachusetts  Marine  Educa- 
tors Association  recently  held  its  seventh  high  school  marine  studies 
symposium. 

Another  trend  in  marine  education  is  toward  a  more  holistic 
approach  to  related  ecosystems.  Watersheds,  rivers,  estuaries,  and 
the  continental  shelf  are  now  viewed  and  studied  as  a  continuum. 
There  is  no  longer  the  perception  that  the  marine  environment 
begins  at  the  shore,  but  rather  the  understanding  that  what  happens 
on  the  land  is  critical  to  coastal  marine  environments. 

In  marine  education,  scientific  information  is  frequently  accom- 
panied by  social  studies  that  examine  the  historical  and  political 
situation  in  which  protection  and  management  operate.  Since 
even  food  chains  in  the  open  ocean  can  be  radically  altered  by 
fishing  practices  available  with  modern  technology,  international 
cooperation  in  management  is  necessary.  In  recognition  of  threats 
to  marine  organisms  and  ecosystems,  a  very  strong  conservation 
message  is  included  in  most  marine  education  programs  and 
curricula. 

Cooperative  programs  among  informal  educators,  government 
agencies,  school  systems,  and  funders  also  are  becoming  common. 
Information  and  materials  may  be  shared  across  geographic  bound- 
aries in  programs,  such  as  the  NSF-funded  cooperative  program 


24 


'  W '' 


Bridget  Sage  ci 

\ton  net  for  aq> 

ns.  Her  Lake  Super 

group  uses  a  fluorescent 

tracing  dye  to  observe 

how  lake  Twrrertts 

transport  material 

along  the  shoreline. 


between  the  Ocean  Alliance's  Project  OCEAN,  based  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  the  University  of  Texas  Marine  Laboratory,  which  will 
bring  Ocean  Week  to  Texas  and  includes  a  strong  English/Spanish 
bilingual  component. 

Alternately,  many  agencies  may  cooperate  in  a  regional  project, 
such  as  two  elementary  school  publications  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay: 
Bay  EC's  and  The  Changing  Chesapeake.  Started  as  a  project  of  the 
National  Aquarium  in  Baltimore  funded  by  Maryland's  Chesapeake 
Bay  Trust,  the  project  grew  to  include  the  USFWS,  EPA,  and  private 
funding,  while  Virginia's  Council  on  the  Environment,  and  the 
Alliance  for  the  Chesapeake  Bay  helped  with  distribution. 

One  area  in  which  marine  education  needs  constant  updating 
is  in  career  information  for  secondary  students.  Career 
options  change  with  time,  with  changes  in  concerns,  and  the 
introduction  of  new  technology.  The  range  of  options  in  marine 
careers  is  greater  than,  and  very  different  from,  what  students 
perceive  from  television.  High  school  counselors  need  information 
on  the  correct  preparation  required  for  a  variety  of  marine  careers. 
One  useful  source  of  information  is  Opportunities  in  Marine  and 
Maritime  Careers  (second  edition)  by  W.  R.  Heitzmann. 

In  short,  K-12  marine  education  is  alive  and  well,  with  an 
expanding  number  of  educators  from  both  the  classroom  and 
informal  education  working  cooperatively  to  improve  students' 
understanding  of  the  ocean  and  its  inhabitants. 


Valerie  Chase  was  President  of  the  National  Marine  Educators 
Association  from  1989  to  1990.  She  is  Staff  Biologist  at  the  National 
Aquarium  in  Baltimore,  Maryland. 


To  receive  a  list  of  contacts  and  addresses  for  groups  mentioned  in  this 
article,  send  a  stamped,  self-addressed  envelope  to  Valerie  Chase,  National 
Aquarium  in  Baltimore,  Pier  3,  501  E.  Pratt  St.,  Baltimore,  MD  21202-3194. 


26 


Editorial 


A  Proposal  to 

Meet  Education 

Challenges 


by  Arthur  R.  M.  Nowell 
and  Charles  D.  Hollister 


The  awful  truth  is  that  no  scientific  discipline  will  ever  again  be  fully  funded. 
— Eric  Bloch,  Director,  National  Science  Foundation 

/  think  George  would  agree  with  investor  Warren  Bnffett,  who  says  that  long- 
range  planning  has  extreme  limitations.. .  What  realh/  counts  are  the  day  to 
day  tilings.  If  yon  do  well  in  the  short  run,  the  long  run  will  take  care  of 
itself. 

—William  Bush  on  brother  George 

locial  leaders  and  senior  government  admin- 
istrators bemoan  the  absence  of  minorities 
and  women  in  the  sciences  and  decry  the 
declining  interest  in  science  in  the  student 
[population  as  a  whole.  But  we  are  equally 
assured  by  them  that  the  incentives  that  we  know  work 
to  attract  all  students  to  science  are  not  going  to  be 
available  in  the  future.  The  federal  government  will  not 
have  the  funds  (see  Bloch's  statement  above,  and  the 
article  by  Williams  on  page  12)  to  provide  the  economic 
incentives  that  worked  in  the  1960s. 

Such  a  bleak  view  belies  the  opportunities  that  can 
exist  if  the  ocean  sciences  act  in  a  unified  manner  in 
cooperation  with  the  federal  agencies  and  equally  im- 
portant, if  the  federal  agencies  are  willing  to  take  risks 


27 


JOI  Faculty 


50- 

45- 
40 

&  35  • 
rt   30- 

MH 

O   25- 

OJ 

I   20- 

I    '5- 

ID- 
S' 
0 


I 


)  32  34  36  38 


on  new  strategies.  The  dramatic  budget  increases  for  the  Science 
and  Engineering  Education  Directorate  (SEE)  at  the  National  Science 
Foundation  (NSF)  is  tribute  to  the  concern  that  the  members  of 
Congress  exhibit  with  respect  to  education.  The  question  to 
address  is  how  can  such  increased  resources  even  within  one 
agency  be  used  wisely,  and  targeted  to  bring  research  and  education 
closer  together. 

There  are  three  key  elements  to  addressing  the  education  needs 
of  the  1990s.  First,  we  must  recognize  that  "science  educa- 
tion" must  be  broken  up  into  workable  units  and  that  to 
address  education  uniformly  in  all  of  the  sciences  is  to  cloud  the 
issue.  We  must  address  the  problems  of  each  field  of  science  and  tie 

education  and  human 
resource  issues  together  for 
the  individual  field,  recog- 
nizing that  each  science  may 
play  a  different  role  in 
education  for  different  age 
groups  of  students.  For 
example  in  oceanography, 
we  do  not  face  a  retirement 
crisis  in  the  1990s  as  faced  by 
some  other  sciences;  we  face 
the  opposite  problem  of  a 
young  field  with  little 
prospect  of  major  employ- 

Iment  opportunities  for  the 
under-represented  groups 
that  we  have  attracted  into 
the  field  in  the  last  10  years. 
—     BBBBBBBBBBBBB  s-^  econd,  the  importance 


40  42  44  46  48  50  52  54  56  58  60  62  64  66  68  70 


Age  Group  (in  years) 


S 


I  of  peer  review  in 
selection  of  science 
must  be  maintained  and 
enhanced,  especially  in  the 

more  mission-oriented  agencies.  The  coordination  of  federal 
research  on  Global  Change  through  the  Council  on  Earth  and 
Environmental  Sciences  is  hailed  by  Alan  Bromley,  Presidential 
Science  Advisor,  as  the  right  way  to  focus  our  national  efforts  in 
research  on  global  change.  Yet  cynics  might  argue  that  the  focus  of 
the  research  efforts  is  being  blunted  and,  like  the  Hubble  telescope, 
the  focus  is  being  lost  because  individual  agencies  are  herding  into 
the  global  change  programs  their  sacred  cows,  and  not  exposing 
these  efforts  to  outside  peer  review.  Is  it  appropriate  to  leave  to 
federal  managers  the  determination  of  scientific  priorities  on  an 
issue  as  important  as  global  change?  We  emphasize  this  point 
because  Bromley  has  suggested  that  a  similar  federal  coordinating 
council  on  education  be  appointed  next  year. 


28 


The  third  element  is  that  education  and  research  must  be  more 
closely  tied  together.  The  separation  of  education  and  human 
resource  issues  from  research  is  detrimental  to  both  aspects  of  our 
national  competitiveness;  within  NSF,  competition  between  SEE 
and  the  research  directorates  personifies  the  issue.  There  is  a  need 
to  restructure  this  area  so  that  education  is  tied  to  the  individual 
sciences;  for  oceanography,  we  put  forward  a  draft  plan  for  how 
this  could  be  achieved. 

Wf  have  tended  in  this  country  to  focus  on  a  relatively  short  range.  But 
one  of  the  functions  of  this  office  clearly  is  to  back  off  and  take  a  longer 
strategic  look. 

— Alan  Bromley,  Presidential  Science  Advisor 

We  propose  that  to  tie  education  and  research  together  in 
ocean  sciences  there  already  exist  some  sterling  examples 
of  recent  success.  The  Office  of  Naval  Research  (ONR) 
during  the  last  five  years  has  initiated  three  programs  that  strike  to 
the  core  of  the  problem  in  oceanography. 

First,  ONR  initiated  a  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Fellowship  pro- 
gram. It  is  clear  that  in  the  1960s  the  rise  in  interest  in  graduate 
science  was  supported  (or  led)  by  the  availability  of  fellowships. 
The  dramatic  decline  in  the  availability  of  such  fellowships  from 
NSF  has  contributed  to  the  decline  in  numbers  of  science  students. 
Re-programming  monies  within  the  existing  SEE  budget  at  NSF  to 
increase  significantly  the  number  of  such  fellowships  would  have 
an  immediate  and  beneficial  effect.  The  administration  of  such 
fellowships  could  be  handled  by  the  science  directorates  at  NSF  so 
that  the  important  ties  between  research  and  education  are  strength- 
ened. 

The  second  program  ONR  initiated  was  the  Ocean  Science 
Educator  Award,  which  created  new  post-doctoral  positions 
and  allied  these  positions  with  the  best  researchers  and 
educators  in  the  field.  The  availability  of  post-doctoral  fellowships 
in  science  in  the  United  States  is  very  poor  in  comparison  to  their 
availability  in  the  health  sciences.  The  National  Institutes  of  Health 
has  approximately  one  post-doctoral  fellowship  for  every  two 
graduates  it  supports  as  students.  The  ratio  in  the  sciences  and 
engineering  is  approximately  l-to-10.  In  ocean  sciences,  ONR 
recognized  this  problem  and  created  more  post-doctoral  positions 
allied  with  the  best  teachers.  Third,  ONR  introduced  a  small 
program  to  bring  college  faculty  from  small  liberal  arts  schools  and 
from  historically  black  colleges  and  minority  institutions  to  spend  a 
week  at  several  major  research  universities  and  institutions.  These 
faculty  members  learn  about  new  research  and  can  pass  onto  their 
students  better  scientific  literacy,  not  only  about  the  science  itself, 
but  also  what  career  alternatives  and  job  opportunities  exist  in 
oceanography. 


Each  science 

must  develop 

its  own  plan 

to  attract  the 

best  and  the 

brightest. 


29 


We  conclude  that  these  successful  examples  could  be  expanded 
and  readily  applied  to  the  NSF  SEE  directorate  so  that  education  at 
the  graduate  and  post-doctoral  level  is  overseen  by  the  scientists 
and  administered  by  the  science  directorates  at  NSF.  Reprogram- 
ming  monies  from  within  SEE  could  provide  the  resources  to 
address  the  education  issues  within  the  field  of  oceanography. 
Other  sciences  face  different  human  resource  problems,  so  it  is  clear 
that  each  science  must  develop  its  own  plan  to  attract  and  retain  the 
best  and  the  brightest. 

A  crucial  ingredient  for  success  is  the  need  for  the  oceano- 
graphic  community  itself  to  live  up  to  its  responsibilities  as  an 
educational  entity.  A  subset  of  the  oceanographic  academic  com- 
munity must  develop  a  consensus  plan  on  the  educational  responsi- 
bilities, needs,  and  opportunities  for  oceanography.  This  plan  could 
be  provided  as  the  basis  for  planning  by  a  coordinating  council  so 
that  long-range  programs  of  support  are  not  isolated  in  differing 
agencies,  or  missing. 

As  a  basis  for  such  a  plan  we  outline  five  areas  in  which  such  a 
program  could  make  a  significant  contribution. 

The  five  areas  are  1)  elementary  and  secondary  school  level, 
specifically  in  teacher  preparation  and  instructional  materials 
development  where  there  is  presently  a  dearth  of  up-to-date, 
expertly  presented,  scholarly  material;  2)  in  informal  education, 
especially  the  use  of  telepresence  to  involve  young  persons  in  the 
excitement  of  oceanographic  discovery;  3)  in  undergraduate  pro- 
grams, especially  in  supporting  undergraduates  to  spend  part  of 
their  time  working  in  research  laboratories,  and  in  educating 
humanities  students  as  part  of  their  science  requirements;  4)  in 
graduate  programs,  especially  in  enhancing  support  for  students 
and  pairing  outstanding  teachers  and  researchers  with  the  best 
students;  and  5)  at  the  professional  level,  addressing  the  challenge 
of  retaining  recent  doctorates  in  the  field  of  oceanography.  This  last 
area  is  one  of  deep  concern  as  the  field  of  oceanography  is  very 
young,  and  the  average  age  of  the  faculty  is  only  43.  This  means 
that  during  the  next  decade  there  will  be  relatively  few  retirements 
and  thus  little  change  in  the  demography  of  the  practicing  field. 
Given  the  changing  demography  of  the  undergraduate  and  gradu- 
ate populations,  it  is  critical  that  innovative  mechanisms  to  retain 
new  doctorates  in  oceanography  be  developed.  If  not,  we  will  lose 
some  of  the  under-represented  groups  such  as  women  and  Asian 
Americans. 

We  cannot  in  this  editorial  detail  all  the  plans  for  the  five  areas, 
but  suffice  to  say  there  are  real  opportunities  to  develop  new 
textbooks,  new  source  material  appropriate  for  the  young  reader, 
new  reference  material  for  the  science  teacher.  There  are  ample 
opportunities  to  capture  the  excitement  of  youngsters  about  the 
ocean  in  conjunction  with  such  entities  as  the  Jason  Foundation. 

If  in  the  next  five  years  we  do  not  face  the  challenges  of  retain- 
ing women  and  minorities  in  the  field,  of  exciting  young  people 
about  the  ocean,  and  of  educating  the  public  on  the  role  of  the 
oceans  in  national  security,  waste  management,  and  global  change, 
we  will  indeed  cede  the  future  to  other  nations. 


30 


Undergraduate 

and 
Graduate  Education 


in  Oceanography 


by  Arthur  R.  M.  Nowell 
and  Charles  D.  Hollister 


he  education  of  a  practicing  oceanographer 
can  begin  at  the  undergraduate  level,  or  even 
be  deferred  as  late  as  a  post-doctoral  appoint- 
ment. Because  oceanography  is  a  young 
science  in  comparison  to  biology,  geology,  zoology,  and 
even  meteorology,  many  who  work  in  the  field  today 
received  their  formal  academic  training  in  a  wide  variety 

John  Teal  (above),  a  Senior  Scientist  at  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic 
Institution,  describes  a  cruise  trawl  sample  to  a  biology  student. 


31 


An  under- 
graduate 
degree  in  the 

field  of 
oceanography 
is  rare  because 
few  colleges 
offer  such 
specializa- 
tion. 


of  other  sciences,  entering  the  discipline  only  after  completing 
formal  degree  training.  But  during  the  last  30  years,  there  has  been 
a  burgeoning  of  universities  and  research  institutions  offering 
graduate  degree  programs  in  oceanography,  and  even  some  that 
offer  undergraduate  degrees  in  the  subject. 

In  the  last  10  years,  most  people  entering  the  field  of  oceanogra- 
phy have  obtained  a  degree  in  one  of  its  subfields  (geological, 
physical,  chemical,  and  biological  oceanography).  But  while  there 
are  many  graduate  programs  in  oceanography,  there  are  relatively 
few  undergraduate  degree  programs.  However,  the  opportunity  to 
learn  about  oceanography  at  a  university  does  not  mean  one  has  to 
get  a  degree  in  the  subject. 

For  many  undergraduates,  the  best  opportunity  to  learn  about 
the  ocean  occurs  in  the  survey  courses  offered  at  the  introduc- 
tory level.  Such  descriptive  courses,  which  often  fulfill 
university  science  distribution  requirements  for  humanities  and  arts 
students,  do  not  require  the  mathematics  and  physics  background 
needed  for  virtually  all  advanced  courses,  but  they  do  offer  students 
a  chance  to  learn  about  the  interplay  of  how  the  waters  of  the  ocean 
are  formed  and  move  around  the  planet  from  a  biological,  chemical, 
and  physical  point  of  view. 

An  undergraduate  degree  in  oceanography  is  rare  in  the  field 
because  very  few  universities  offer  such  a  specialization.  Although 
many  universities  and  colleges  offer  bachelor's  degrees  in  marine 
biology,  such  a  specialization  is  a  very  small  component  of  the 
overall  field.  An  undergraduate  degree  in  oceanography  covers  the 
physics  of  the  ocean,  namely  how  the  currents,  tides,  and  turbulence 
affect  the  movement  of  the  stratified  waters  of  the  ocean;  the 
chemistry  of  seawater  and  the  importance  of  nutrients  to  the 
development  of  marine  life;  the  history  of  the  formation  of  the 
oceans,  the  generation  of  new  oceanic  crust  at  mid-ocean  ridges,  and 
the  transport  of  sediments  from  the  land  around  the  seafloor.  Such 
breadth  of  coverage,  mostly  descriptive,  however,  can  only  be 
achieved  at  the  sacrifice  of  in-depth  specifics.    Thus  an  oceanogra- 
phy undergraduate  degree  is  often  described  as  a  "liberal  science 
major." 

The  value  of  the  oceanography  undergraduate  degree  rests  less 
in  preparation  for  graduate  study,  and  more  on  the  fact  that 
the  graduate  has  been  exposed  to  the  important  interactions 
between  the  physical  environment  and  the  biological  consequences 
of  perturbations.  Unlike  botany  or  zoology,  for  example,  where  the 
animal  or  plant  becomes  the  entire  focus,  a  degree  in  oceanography 
lets  the  student  understand  that  it  is  the  interaction  between  the 
physical  environment  and  the  organism  that  is  important,  and  that 
rarely  can  one  isolate  a  single  species  for  special  consideration 
without  making  very  dangerous  assumptions  about  the  consequent 
effects  of  one's  actions. 

Most  undergraduates  in  oceanography  continue  in  the  field  on 


32 


graduation — most  often 
working  for  the  growing 
number  of  environmental  and 
waste  management  companies, 
public  interest  groups,  or  state 
and  federal  regulatory 
agencies. 

There  are  more  than  60 
institutions  in  the 
country  that  offer 
doctoral  degrees  in  oceanogra- 
phy, but  of  these,  just  10 
dominate  the  field  of  "blue 
water"  oceanography —  that  is, 
the  field  of  ocean  science  that 

extends  beyond  coastal  or  estuarine  studies  and  incorporates  open 
ocean  research.  These  10  schools,  known  as  Joint  Oceanographic 
Institutions  (JOI),*  not  only  grant  the  overwhelming  majority  of 
doctoral  degrees  in  the  United  States,  but  also  are  the  nation's 
largest  oceanographic  research  centers. 

The  obvious  tie  between  graduate  education  and  research  is 
nowhere  more  clear  than  in  the  work  conducted  aboard  a  research 
vessel  or  on  an  open  ocean  cruise.  The  scientific  party  usually 
comprises  approximately  six  professors  and  scientists,  10  techni- 
cians with  engineering  degrees  or  master's  degrees  in  oceanogra- 
phy, and  10  students.  The  cruise  most  often  contributes  a  key 
component  to  various  doctoral  and  some  master's  theses. 

Many  students  in  oceanography  not  only  get  to  design  a  field 
study  and  collect  data,  they  also  confront  the  challenge  of  trying  to 
interpret  the  information  that  comes  back.  Thus,  oceanography 
students  are  neither  laboratory  bound,  nor  slaves  to  theory.  The 
field  offers  each  student  the  challenge  of  identifying  a  problem  and 
deciding  what  area  will  yield  the  most  important  results  first  - 
theory,  laboratory  observation,  or  field  data  collection. 

The  field  of  oceanography  can  be  compared  to  a  small  town, 
even  though  the  centers  of  study  are  widely  distributed  along  the 
nation's  coastlines.  With  approximately  500  faculty 
and  1,000  students  at  the  10  JOI  schools,  virtually 
everyone  is  known  to  one  another.  Thus,  the  best 
and  brightest  doctoral  students  are  known  through- 
out the  community  well  before  they  graduate. 

n  describing  the  size,  characteristics,  and 

changes  that  have  occurred  to  the  student 

oceanographic  population  during  the  last  10 
years,  our  observations  are  based  on  data  collected 
from  the  10  JOI  schools.  Although  it  represents  only 
10  of  the  60  schools,  these  10  produce  85  percent  of 
the  Ph.D.'s  in  ocean  sciences.  They  also  carry  out 

*JOI  Members:  University  of  Hawaii  at  Manoa;  Scripps  Institution  of  Ocean- 
ography, La  Jolla,  CA;  Lamont-Doherty  Geological  Observatory  of  Columbia  University; 
Texas  A&M  University;  University  of  Miami;  University  of  Texas-Institute  for 
Geophysics;  Oregon  State  University;  University  of  Washington/Seattle; 
University  of  Rhode  Island /Kingston;  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution 


In  the  roil  and  roll  of 

the  sea,  scientists 

(above)  launch  a 

rosette  conductivity, 

temperature,  and  depth 

sampler  (CTD)  during 

a  warm  core  ring 

study. 


Kim  Warner  (below),  a 
WHOI  summer 
student  fellow, 

conducts  lab  research. 


I 


Applications  to  JOI  Schools 


1400 

1200- 

1000- 

</> 

.2     800 • 

8 

"a,    600- 
< 

400- 

200- 
0- 


78       79       '80       '81       '82 


800- 

700- 

600- 

|  500- 

1  400- 

"&H 

,£•300- 

200- 

100- 

0- 


Phi/sicnl 


Chemical 


approximately  80  percent  of  the  funded  research  in  oceanography. 

Traditionally,  the  largest  subdiscipline  of  oceanography  has 
been  biological  oceanography.  Marine  geology,  because  of  its 
applicability  to  offshore  mining  and  oil  drilling,  has  been  the  next 
largest.  The  smallest  subfields  have  been  physical  oceanography 
and  chemical  oceanography.  Taken  together,  applications  to  these 
four  subdisciplines  have  started  to  rebound.  In  fact,  the  upward 
curve  of  applications  has  been  driven  by  the  overwhelming  drop  in 
the  number  of  biological  oceanography  applications. 

The  upsurge  in  environmental  interest,  reminiscent  of  the  late 
1960s,  is  producing  an  increase  in  applications  again.  Public- 
ity about  global  warming,  sea-level  rise,  and  waste  disposal 
have  resulted  in  increased  student  awareness  of  oceanography  as  a 
viable  career  path.  But  there  are  important  differences  today  in  the 
upsurge  of  interest  in  the  ocean  compared  to  those  concerns  advo- 
cated by  Cousteau  in  the  1970s.  Today  there  is  a  much  greater 
realization  that  the  ocean  is  coupled  to  the  atmosphere,  and  that  to 

understand  even  the 
seemingly  simplest 
biological  questions, 
one  must  under- 
stand the  physics 
and  chemistry  of  the 
ocean. 

The  upswing  in 
applications  during 
the  last  six  years  is 
gratifying  as  there 
has  been  talk  during 
this  period  of  a 
declining  interest  in 
science  overall  in  the 
United  States. 
However,  there  are 
very  few  oceanogra- 
phy applications 
overall  when 
compared  to  the 
total  pool — on 
average  about  20 
from  each  state! 
There  are  approxi- 
mately 10,000 
Bachelor  of  Science 
degrees  awarded  in 
physics  each  year  in 
the  nation,  and  yet 
only  200  applica- 


'83       '84       '85       '86       '87 


'89 


Applications  by  Option 


78       79       '80       '81       '82       '83       '84       '85       '86 


'87       '88       '89 


34 


tions  are  received  in  physical  oceanography.  In  tracing  applications 
across  the  oceanographic  schools,  a  total  of  1,200  applications  come 
from  only  700  persons,  with  500  applying  to  only  one  school. 

These  students  also  are  applying  to  other  graduate  programs, 
mainly  in  the  discipline  in  which  they  received  their  undergraduate 
degrees.  Thus,  there  are  only  200  students  who  apply  to  a  range  of 
graduate  programs  in  oceanography  who  are  committed  to  getting 
their  graduate  degree  in  the  field.  Such  small  numbers  lead  to  an 
important  effect — the  good  applicants  are  intensely  recruited,  often 
receiving  offers  from  several  of  the  best  institutions  in  addition  to 
others. 

While  the  numbers  of  applications  have  changed  during  the 
last  10  years  from  the  heyday  of  Cousteau-based  interest, 
the  number  of  students  in  residence  has  remained  more 
or  less  constant.  Each  year,  approximately  200  students  are  admit- 
ted to  the  graduate  programs  at  the  10  JOI  institutions.  So  for  the 
last  10  years  enrollments  have  remained  constant  at  approximately 
1,000  students-in-residence. 

However,  during  these  last  10  years,  two  notable  changes  have 
occurred.  Marine  geology  and  geophysics  is  now  larger  than 
biological  oceanography,  a  trend  due  in  large  measure  to  a  greater 
proportion  of  students  in  marine  geology  staying  on  to  complete  a 
Ph.D.    In  the  past  they  would  leave  after  completing  a  master's 
degree  to  work  in 
the  oil  industry. 
The  depression  in 
that  industry 
through  the  latter 
part  of  the  1980s  left 
few  job  opportuni- 
ties and  so  many 
students  decided  to 
stay  on  for  a  doc- 
toral degree. 
Second,  the  decline 
in  numbers  of 
biological  oceanog- 
raphy students  in 
residence  reflects  a 
decline  in  the 
availability  of 
funding  for  such  students. 

A  significant  growth  in  the  numbers  of  physical  oceanographers 
reflects  both  growing  efforts  by  this  segment  of  the  field  to  attract 
and  retain  good  students  and  the  availability  of  funding.  Physical 
oceanography  is  presently  the  largest  field  in  terms  of  research 
funding,  and  there  are  many  more  job  opportunities  in  this  area 
now  than  in  any  other. 


Students  in  Residence 


400- 


350- 


300- 


c 

01 


250- 


Z  100- 
50- 


Biological 


Geological 


Pin/si  cal 


Chemical 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


78       79       '80       '81        '82       '83       '84       '85       '86 


1  1 

'87 


1 
'88       '89 


35 


45- 
40- 
35- 
30- 


15 
10 

5- 

0 


Ph.D.'s  Produced 


77 


78        79 


Biological 


While  approximately  200  students  enter  graduate  programs 
each  year,  about  100  obtain  doctoral  degrees.  This  50  percent 
"success"  rate  is  normal  for  a  scientific  field  where  there  are  job 
opportunities  associated  with  master's  degrees.  The  majority  of 
those  students  who  leave  after  completing  a  master's  program  work 
for  the  federal  government  in  agencies  such  as  the  National  Oceanic 
and  Atmospheric  Administration  (NOAA),  or  for  the  many  consult- 
ing firms  specializing  in  environmental  management. 

Doctorates  in  physical  oceanography  have  the  easiest  time 
finding  employment.  Approximately  18  students  a  year 
finish  with  such  degrees  and  about  50  percent  enter  educa- 
tion and  research  at  universities,  with  a  further  25  percent  entering 
government  laboratories  or  research  agencies.  With  such  small 
absolute  numbers,  it  is  hardly  surprising  that  most  students  will  be 
well  known  throughout  the  community  before  they  graduate.  For 

the  best  students, 
there  are  offers  of 
postdoctoral 
appointments. 
The  opportunity  to 
travel,  to  be  based 
in  a  coastal  city,  and 
to  study  the  envi- 
ronment are  most 
often  cited  as  the 
reasons  why 
students  choose 
oceanography. 
Ambitions  to  feed 
the  world,  save  the 
whales,  or  stave  off 
global  warming  are 

mentioned,  but  most  students  select  their  graduate  school  as  often 
for  family  and  personal  reasons  as  for  reasons  of  scholarship. 
Financial  constraints  rarely  enter  into  the  decision  as  the  over- 
whelming majority  of  graduate  students  are  supported  throughout 
their  graduate  career  on  research  or  teaching  assistantships  or  on 
scholarships.  Because  the  stipends  from  these  sources  of  support 
are  quite  similar,  rarely  do  competing  economic  variables  enter  into 
the  decision  as  to  which  graduate  school  to  attend. 

The  quality  of  graduate  programs  varies  among  the  10  JOI 
schools  as  does  areas  of  greatest  expertise.  But  broadly 
speaking,  to  get  into  one  of  the  schools  requires  a  high  grade 
point  average,  Graduate  Record  Exam  scores  in  the  80th  percentile 
or  higher,  and  a  strong  background  in  one  of  the  basic  sciences. 
Strong  undergraduate  preparation  in  mathematics,  chemistry,  and 
physics  is  required  in  addition  to  an  overwhelming  amount  of 
energy  and  curiosity. 


'80        '81 


'82 


'83        '84        '85        '86        '87 


Geological 


Physical 


Chemical 


36 


The  decline  in  interest  in  science  in  the  United  States  in  the 
1980s,  coupled  with  the  decline  in  the  number  of  teenagers,  is  often 
linked  with  the  increase  in  enrollment  of  foreign  students.  Some  30 
percent  of  oceanography  students  today  are  foreign  nationals,  an 
increase  from  about  20  percent  in  1980.  While  the  increase  has  been 
driven  mainly  by  applications  from  China,  applications  are  widely 
received  from  throughout  the  world  because  many  countries  do  not 
offer  doctorates  in  oceanography. 

But  overall,  the  increase  in  foreign  student  enrollment  is  much 
less  than  that  observed  in  other  sciences,  in  large  measure 
because  during  this  same  time  period  there  has  been  a  very 
dramatic  increase  in  the  number  of  applications  from  women  in  the 
United  States. 

It  is  tempting  to  think  that  most  of  the  women  in  oceanography 
are  marine  biologists,  as  so  often  depicted  in  Time  or  Newsweek. 
However,  the  last  10  years  have  seen  a  steady  increase  in  women 
entering  all  areas  of  oceanography,  including  physical  and  chemical 
oceanography. 

This  long  overdue  trend  has  been  achieved  because  women 
have  been  accepted  in  the  field  for  many  years,  seagoing  cruises  are 
integrated,  and  an  increasing  number  of  women  on  graduating  are 
entering  the  professoriate.  The  reasons  for  the  increased  number  of 
women  in  the  field  are  twofold:  because  there  are  now  sufficient 
numbers  of  women  in  graduate  school,  new  women  entering  do  not 
feel  isolated  or  out  of  place,  and,  equally  important,  women  now 
entering  the  field  have  superior  qualifications  to  some  of  those  who 
proceeded  them.  The  small  size  of  the  field,  the  camaraderie 
developed  by  going  on  cruises,  and  the  increasing  commitment  by 
faculty  to  enhancing  graduate  education  for  women  have  all  com- 
bined to  provide  a  very  supportive  environment. 

However,  the  success  rate  for  women  completing  doctoral 
degrees  is  slightly  below  that  of  men,  based  on  a  very  limited  data 
set.  To  examine  relative  success  rates,  it  is  necessary  to  follow  each 
student  from  entry  to  completion.  Our  conclusions  are  drawn  from 
a  study  of  data  from  Scripps  Institution  of  Oceanography,  the 
Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution,  and  the  University  of 
Washington. 

The  average  success  rates  for  completing  doctoral  degrees  in 
oceanography  during  a  12-year  period  were  74  percent  for 
male  students  and  60  percent  for  female  students.  This  lower 
success  rate  is  regrettably  typical  of  the  sciences  in  general.  All 
schools  are  stepping  up  their  efforts  to  increase  the  success  rates  and 
improve  the  working  environment. 

The  recruitment  of  minorities  into  oceanography  also  is  making 
progress,  though  at  a  slower  pace.  Today  about  3  percent  of  en- 
rolled graduate  students  in  oceanography  are  from  minority  groups. 
A  doctorate  in  oceanography  will  not  likely  lead  to  a  fortune.  With 
about  75  percent  of  the  doctorates  in  oceanography  entering  univer- 


The  last  10 

years  have  seen 

a  steady 

increase  in 

women 
entering  all 

areas  of 
oceanography. 


37 


sities  or  government  service,  salaries  are  competitive  (a  starting 
assistant  professor  receives  about  $40,000  a  year,  and  rises  to  about 
$70,000  as  a  full  professor.  Fame  often  comes  early,  for  oceanogra- 
phy offers  rich  opportunity  for  discoveries  of  immediate  and  lasting 
importance  to  humanity.  But  the  greatest  reward  comes  from  being 
a  member  of  an  elite  group  of  scientists  who  get  to  go  where  few 
people  venture,  and  to  have  a  chance  to  think  about  how  two  thirds 
of  the  planet  works.  The  pleasure  of  working  in  a  small  collegial 
department,  largely  focused  on  graduate  education  and  research, 
leads  to  an  enviable  life.  Students  and  faculty  alike  have  the  luxury 
and  the  delight  of  thinking  about  the  blue  planet;  spending  weeks  at 
sea  is  just  one  of  the  unique  rewards  for  those  students  who  seek  an 
adventurous  graduate  career. 


Professor  Arthur  R.  M.  Nowell  is  Director  of  the  School  of  Oceanog- 
raphy at  the  University  of  Washington.  Charles  D.  Hollister  is  Vice 
President  and  Associate  Director  for  External  Affairs  at  the  Woods 
Hole  Oceanographic  Institution.  He  formerly  was  Dean  of  Graduate 
Studies  at  WHOI. 


Picture  Credits 

p.  2,  top:  courtesy  of  Sea  Grant  College  Program,  University  of 
Delaware,  p.  2,  middle:  courtesy  of  Sea  Grant  College  Program, 
University  of  Minnesota,  p.  2,  bottom:  courtesy  of  Sea  Grant  Institute, 
University  of  Wisconsin,  p.  3,  top,  middle  and  bottom:  courtesy  of 
Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution,  pp.  4-5, 11,53:  original 
artwork  by  Sig  Purwin,  Woods  Hole,  MA.  p.  9,  top:  by  Bob  Bowden, 
courtesy  of  University  of  Delaware  Sea  Grant  College  Program. 
p.  12:  by  Larry  Shumaker,  courtesy  U.S.  Navy.  p.  17:  by  Shelley  Lauzon, 
Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution,  p.  20,  top  and  bottom:  courtesy 
University  of  North  Carolina  Sea  Grant  Program,  p.  20,  middle: 
courtesy  University  of  Minnesota,  Sea  Grant  College  Program,  p.  21: 
courtesy  University  of  Minnesota,  Sea  Grant  College  Program,  p.  23:  by 
Mel  Goodwin,  South  Carolina  Sea  Grant  Consortium,    p.  25:  courtesy 
University  of  Michigan  Sea  Grant  Program,  p.  31:  by  Vicky  Cullen, 
courtesy  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution,  p.  33,  top:  by  Peter 
Wiebe,  courtesy  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution,  p.  33,  bottom: 
by  Robert  Brown,  courtesy  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution. 
p.  39:  courtesy  University  of  North  Carolina  Sea  Grant  Program,  p.  41: 
courtesy  University  of  Hawaii  Sea  Grant  Program,  p.  46:  courtesy  Sea 
Education  Association,  p.  47,  top:  by  Carin  Ashjian,  courtesy  Sea 
Education  Association,  p.  47,  bottom:  by  Benjamin  Mindlowitz,  Sea 
Education  Association,  p.  51:  by  Stephen  F.  Rose,  East  Falmouth,  MA. 
pp.  55,  57:  courtesy  Mystic  Seaport  Museum  pp.  63,  65,  top  and  bottom: 
courtesy  Massachusetts  Maritime  Academy,  p.  70:  courtesy  Tom  Toles, 
The  Buffalo  News. 


38 


Sea  Grant's  Role  in 


Education 


by  Robert  D.  Wildman 


and  David  A.  Ross 


An  NSF  study 

concludes 
that  the  U.S. 
faces  a  short- 
fall of  about 

500,000 

scientists  and 

engineers  by 

the  end  of  the 

decade. 


I  ever  before  have  scientific  and  environmental  issues 
dominated  the  actions  of  countries  and  the  concerns  of 
individuals  as  they  do  today.  Despite  the  fact  that  these 
issues  are  covered  almost  daily  on  the  front  pages  of 
I  our  newspapers  and  featured  on  the  evening  TV  news, 
a  major  shortage  of  scientists  and  engineers  is  projected  in  the 
United  States  by  the  end  of  this  decade.  There  are  only  a  few 
programs  in  the  United  States  that  are  striving  to  increase  the 
numbers  of  marine  scientists  and  engineers.  One  that  is  active  in  the 
marine  area  is  the  National  Sea  Grant  College  Program,  which  is 
part  of  the  National  Oceanic  and  Atmospheric  Administration 
(NOAA)  in  the  U.S.  Department  of  Commerce. 

In  a  1989  study,  the  National  Science  Foundation  (NSF)  con- 
cluded that  the  United  States  faces  a  shortfall  of  about  500,000 
scientists  and  engineers  by  the  end  of  the  20th  century  and  that  the 
number  could  increase  to  675,000  by  the  year  2006.  One  simple 
reason  is  that  college-age  students  will  number  only  24  million  in 
the  mid-1990s,  whereas  they  were  30  million  strong  in  1980.  On  top 
of  this  reduction  in  the  available  population,  only  a  small  portion, 
about  5  percent,  of  these  students  will  actually  earn  a  bachelor's 
degree  in  science. 

A  number  of  reasons  have  been  proposed  for  the  decreased 
interest  and  enrollment  in  science  fields.  These  include  the  above 
mentioned  decline  in  the  number  of  U.S.  college-age  students, 
which  in  turn  leads  to  a  reduction  in  the  total  number  of  students  in 
all  fields.  Most  of  the  science  community's  attention,  however,  has 
been  directed  toward  the  decreasing  proportion  of  all  students  now 
entering  science  fields  versus  other  careers.  Possible  causes  for  this 
range  from  the  perceived  difficulty  of  science  education,  to  boring 
course  materials,  to  uninspiring  or  poorly  trained  teachers.  Of  the 
few  students  who  plan  to  major  in  science  or  engineering  when  they 
enter  college,  more  than  half  fail  to  receive  their  degrees  in  these 
fields.  This  is  attributed  to  students  finding  the  course  work  too 
difficult,  finding  other  fields  more  interesting,  or  believing  the  job 
prospects  to  be  better  in  other  fields. 

One  way  to  improve  this  situation  is  to  attract  larger  numbers 
of  women  and  minorities  to  science  and  engineering. 
Women  at  present  earn  about  a  third  of  the  doctorates 
awarded  in  science,  but  most  tend  to  be  in  the  social  sciences  and 
psychology.  For  Blacks  and  Hispanics,  the  situation  is  even  less 
favorable.  While  Blacks  constitute  12  percent  of  the  population, 
they  only  hold  about  2  percent  of  the  scientific  and  engineering 
positions.  Hispanics  constitute  close  to  9  percent  of  the  population 
and  they,  too,  only  hold  about  2  percent  of  the  science  and  engineer- 
ing positions. 

In  1989,  nearly  9,600  Americans  received  Ph.D.'s  in  the  natural 
sciences  and  engineering.  Only  133  of  these  were  awarded  to  Blacks 
(of  a  total  811  in  all  fields),  and  this  was  the  highest  number  yet 


40 


achieved.  Of  these  133,  only  three  were  in  the  Earth,  marine,  and 
atmospheric  fields,  or  less  than  0.5  percent  of  those  awarded  in  1989. 
Asians  received  427  Ph.D.'s  in  science  and  engineering  (out  of  a  total 
of  624);  for  Hispanics,  the  numbers  were  186  of  569,  and  for  Ameri- 
can Indians,  37  of  93. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  third  of  the  earned  Ph.D.'s  went  to 
foreigners  studying  in  the  United  States.  These  small 
numbers  of  minorities  in  the  sciences  are  a  national  shame; 
there  are  scientific  opportunities  for  women  and  minorities  in 
science,  particularly  in 
marine  sciences,  that 
should  be  tapped.  In- 
deed, if  the  predicted 
shortfall  is  to  be  avoided, 
large  numbers  of  women 
and  minorities  must  be 
attracted  to  scientific  or 
technical  careers. 

In  the  United  States, 
the  training  of  marine 
scientists  at  the  Ph.D.  or 
master's  level  has  fre- 
quently been  a  controver- 
sial matter.  One  school  of 
thought  prefers  that 
students  be  fully  trained 
in  the  fundamentals  of  a 
basic  science  (for  ex- 
ample, biology),  and  in 
their  thesis  research-and 
later  in  their  careers  apply 
this  basic  knowledge  to 
the  marine  environment. 
The  other  position  holds 
that  students  should  be 
exposed  in  their  training 
to  all  fields  of  marine 
science,  but  specialize  in 
one  specific  subdiscipline 

-  for  example  biological  oceanography.  Surprisingly,  feelings  often 
run  strong  concerning  which  of  these  two  procedures  should  be 
used.  At  the  risk  of  a  pun,  the  argument  may  just  be  academic  for 
the  21st  century. 

There  are  three  major  problems  that  the  marine  scientific 
community  must  solve  in  training  the  necessary  talent 
needed  for  the  coming  century.  These  are  1)  the  general  lack 
of  national  interest  in  science  as  a  career  among  college-age  and 
younger  students;  2)  the  changing  skills  needed  by  oceanographers 


In  a  subsea  setting, 

students  (above)  map 

and  survey  marine 

archaeology  during  a 

University  of  Hawaii 

Sea  Grant  workshop  at 

Oahu.  They  home  in 

(below)  on  the  remains 

of  a  light  beacon. 


41 


in  the  21st  century;  and  3)  the  impact  of  "big"  science  and  advanc- 
ing technology  on  the  individual  researcher  and  graduate  student. 
These  hurdles  can  be  overcome,  but  it  will  take  a  national  effort. 

Marine  science  is  undergoing  some  major  changes.  This  in- 
cludes the  realization  that  the  oceans  play  a  critical  role  in  the 
worldwide  process  of  global  change.  To  answer  some  of  the  ques- 
tions related  to  global  change,  several  new,  large-scale  research 
programs  have  been  developed.  These  will  be  decade-long  in 
duration  and  involve  innovative  ways  of  collecting  data,  such  as  by 
satellites.  The  oceanographer  who  will  work  in  these  programs  will 
be  different  from  the  sea-going  scientist  of  years  past,  as  familiarity 
with  computers  may  become  more  important  than  sea-going  skills. 

Real  possibilities  exist  for  making  inroads  on  the  three  problems 
cited  above  through  marine  education  and  training  programs.  The 
National  Sea  Grant  College  Program  sponsors  work  in  marine 
research,  marine  education,  and  marine  advisory  services  (see 
Oceaiius,  Vol.  31,  No.  3).  Through  its  network  of  participating 
academic  institutions,  Sea  Grant  has  been  actively  involved  in 
increasing  the  supply  of  well-trained,  and  educated  specialists  in 
marine  science  and  marine  affairs,  and  in  making  the  public  better 
informed  about  the  wise  use  and  protection  of  the  marine  environ- 
ment and  its  resources. 

Sea  Grant's  marine  educational  activities  can  be  categorized  as 
follows: 

Course  Development  and  Student  Projects:  Includes  efforts  to 
improve  undergraduate  and  graduate  level  instructional  programs 
in  marine  sciences  and  related  fields.  The  projects  help  universities 
introduce  new  knowledge  and  methodologies  into  their  instruc- 
tional programs.  Federal  support  is  offered  for  a  short  period  of 
time  and  only  for  development  efforts  that  clearly  exceed  normal 
university  resources  available  for  this  program. 

Research  Assistantships:  The  estimated  numbers  of  graduate 
research  assistants  (GRA's)  who  have  received  at  least  partial 
support  from  Sea  Grant  in  recent  years  are  shown  on  page  43.  Note 
that  the  table  includes  all  the  GRA's  supported  by  Sea  Grant,  not 
just  those  in  separate  education  projects. 

Elementary  and  Secondary  Education  and  Teacher  Training: 
Investigators  supported  by  these  projects  develop  educational 
materials  to  be  used  in  elementary  and  secondary  classrooms, 
evaluate  and  disseminate  the  materials,  and  instruct  teachers  in 
their  use.  They  also  provide  back-up  support  to  teachers  and 
administrators  who  are  trying  to  introduce  marine  and  aquatic 
education  into  their  school  systems. 

Non-Formal  Education:  Includes  marine  and  aquatic  educa- 
tional activities  that  occur  outside  formal  classroom  structures.  The 
potential  audience  is  the  entire  American  public  in  all  its  diversity. 
Activities  typically  include  lectures,  conferences,  4-H  and  Scout 
projects,  beach  walks,  and  radio  and  television  shows.  These 


42 


Numbers  of  Graduate  Research  Assistants  (GRA's) 
Supported  by  Sea  Grant  in  Past  Decade 


Fiscal  Year 


The  numbers  refer  only  to  graduate  research  assistants,  while  graduate  students 
who  work  in  education,  marine  advisory  service,  and  program  administration  are  omitted 


activities  often  take  place  at  science  centers,  museums,  and  aquaria. 

Technical  and  Vocational  Education:  Includes  projects  to 
begin  technical  training,  vocational  training,  and  pre-baccalaureate 
technical  training  programs  that  typically  are  offered  at  junior  or 
community  colleges  and  technical  institutes. 

Sea  Grant  Fellowship  Program:  Includes  projects  intended  to 
help  stimulate  interest  in  marine  careers  among  those  whose 
background  or  previous  training  might  not  have  generated  such 
interest. 

Sea  Grant  Fellows  (John  A.  Knauss  Marine  Policy  Fellow- 
ship): This  program  supports  highly  qualified  and  motivated 
graduate  students  while  they  work  on  marine  policy  issues  for  one 
year  in  the  legislative  or  executive  branch  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment. The  program  is  intended  to  round  out  a  student's  academic 
training  and  give  him  or  her  some  experience  at  the  federal  policy- 
making  level.  The  program  has  been  in  existence  since  1979  and  has 
supported  152  students  to  date.  Public  Law  100-200  renamed  it  the 
Dean  John  A.  Knauss  Marine  Policy  Fellowship  Program  after  the 
former  Dean  of  the  Graduate  School  of  Oceanography  at  the 
University  of  Rhode  Island  and  current  NOAA  Administrator. 

The  total  amount  spent  in  these  categories  was  $4,941,000  in 
Fiscal  Year  89,  of  which  $3,023,000  comes  directly  from  NOAA  Sea 
Grant,  and  $1,918,000  was  matched  or  in-kind  support  from  partici- 
pating institutions. 

Sea  Grant-supported  college  graduates  include  not  only  some  in 
the  classical  fields  of  oceanography,  but  also  many  trained  as 
marine  specialists  in  law,  economics  and  social  sciences,  medicine 
and  pharmacology,  engineering,  and  transportation  and  energy. 


43 


Some  10,000 

students 

to  date 

have  been 

supported 

by  Sea  Grant 

in  various 
marine  fields 


The  number  of  students  supported  by  Sea  Grant  to  date  is  ap- 
proaching 10,000.  Concurrently,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  adults 
are  reached  through  Sea  Grant's  Marine  Advisory  Service  and 
Communications  Programs  with  information  on  ocean  and  Great 
Lakes  resource  concerns. 

National  Marine  Educators  Association:  In  the  1960s  and  70s, 
Sea  Grant  was  one  of  the  few  organizations  supporting  marine 
education.  Some  of  this  support  helped  start  the  National  Marine 
Educators  Association  (NMEA).  NMEA  was  officially  formed  in 
1976,  although  an  "unofficial"  group  of  individuals  interested  in 
marine  education  had  been  meeting  since  the  mid-1960s.  NMEA  is 
now  an  independent  organization  with  15  regional  chapters  and 
more  than  1,500  members.  It  holds  annual  and  regional  meetings 
and  publishes  a  magazine:  Current  — The  Journal  of  Marine  Education. 

Among  the  purposes  of  NMEA,  many  of  which  parallel  Sea 
Grant's  interests  and  help  in  developing  marine  scientists,  are: 

•To  provide  a  medium  for  the  exchange  of  information  and  teaching 

materials; 
•To  stress  the  interrelationships  of  marine  education  to  all  disciplines  and 

other  educational  experiences; 
•To  make  available  to  educators  information  concerning  the  selection, 

organization,  and  presentation  of  marine  materials  at  all  levels;  and 
•To  work  for  the  improvement  of  the  professional  qualifications  of  marine 

educators. 

What  then  can  marine  science  in  general,  and  the  Sea  Grant 
Program  in  particular,  do  to  contribute  to  solving  the  dilemma  of 
reduced  graduates  in  the  sciences?  Clearly,  they  cannot  and  should 
not  attempt  to  reshape  the  entire  U.S.  science  education  field,  an 
approach  more  appropriate  for  the  National  Science  Foundation. 
Rather,  Sea  Grant  should  use  its  limited  resources  in  complemen- 
tary approaches  that  can  make  contributions  for  which  the  marine 
sciences  have  unique  capabilities. 

The  oceans  and  the  organisms  that  inhabit  them  still  have  a 
romantic  allure  for  most  people.  Professionals  involved  in  marine 
education  in  any  capacity  can  take  advantage  of  that  fact  to  interest 
young  people  in  science  careers  and  the  marine  sciences  in  particu- 
lar. During  their  educational  development,  students  can  be  made 
aware  of  the  wide  variety  of  career  fields  open  to  them,  many  of 
which  do  not  require  a  Ph.D.  While  a  solid  foundation  in  math- 
ematics and  natural  sciences  is  a  requirement  for  several  career 
paths,  it  can  be  attained  in  a  way  that  is  much  more  appealing  and 
less  threatening  to  students. 

In  the  realm  of  elementary  and  secondary  educational  pro- 
grams, Sea  Grant  can  enhance  its  efforts  to  make  available  stimulat- 
ing instructional  materials  that  can  be  infused  into  K-12  curricula  in 
nonscience  as  well  as  science  courses.  This  approach  could  lead  to 


44 


more  student  awareness  of  and  interest  in  science  as  a  field  and  in 
marine  science  affairs  specifically. 

Communicating  the  many  problems  and  opportunities  involved 
in  human  interaction  with  the  marine  environment  should  be 
simplified  and  expanded  to  reach  a  wider  public  audience.  Casting 
a  larger  net  on  marine  issues  to  the  public  could  increase  interest  in 
the  pursuit  of  marine  science  careers. 

Then  enters  the  national  priority  of  teaching  the  teachers. 
Improving  curricula  and  enhancing  out-of-classroom  experi- 
ences for  science  teachers  at  the  K-12  and  post-secondary 
levels  should  translate  back  into  increased  career  interest  by  the 
student  population.  At  the  graduate  school  level,  assistantships  and 
pre-  and  post-doctoral  fellowships  should  be  targeted  toward 
specific  job  categories  to  fill  identified  needs,  and  toward  minorities 
and  women  to  take  advantage  of  these  increasingly  important 
sources  of  marine  careerists. 

As  with  most  problems  facing  us  today,  the  balancing  of  supply 
and  demand  for  marine  science  and  marine  affair  specialists  is  not 
likely  to  yield  to  singular,  simplistic  solutions.  Only  carefully 
considered,  multiple  approaches  are  likely  to  lead  to  the  desired 
results  during  this  and  the  next  decade. 


Robert  D.  Wildman  is  Director  of  the  National  Sea  Grant  College 
Program  at  the  National  Oceanic  and  Atmospheric  Administration. 
David  A.  Ross  is  a  Senior  Scientist  in  the  Geology  and  Geophysics 
Department  at  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution.  He  also  is 
director  of  the  Sea  Grant  Program  at  WHOI. 


Teaching 
teachers  is  a 

national 
priority  as  is 

expanding 
public  aware- 
ness of  the 
opportunities 
and  problems 
in  the  marine 
arena. 


The  authors  would  like  to  thank  Judith  Fenwick  and  Victor  Omelczenko  for 
their  reviews  and  comments  on  this  article.  Much  of  the  information 
related  to  the  problem  and  shortage  of  scientists  in  the  future  was  reported 
by  R.  Atkinson  in  the  April  27, 1990,  issue  of  Science  magazine  (Vol.  248,  p 
425-432). 


45 


The  Ocean 

as  a 
Classroom 


The  Role  of  Practical 

Experience  in 
Science  Education 


by  Susan  E.  Humphris 


here  have  been  numer- 
ous reports  recently 
calling  for  a  nationwide 
reform  in  science  educa- 
tion. The  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  has  sponsored  two  such 
reports,  Science  for  AH  Americans: 
Project  2061,  and  The  Liberal  Art  of 
Science:  Agenda  for  Action.  These 
reports  highlight  two  major  concerns 
of  science  educators. 

The  first  concern  is  the  need  to 
develop  a  citizenry  with  a  level  of 
scientific  understanding  sufficient  to 
make  informed  policy  decisions 
concerning  scientific  and  technologi- 
cal advances.  The  second  concern  is 
the  need  to  ensure  a  continued 


supply  of  highly  motivated  students  entering  scientific 
careers. 

These  reports  have  emphasized  familiarity  with  the 
natural  world  as  a  basic  dimension  of  science  literacy. 
They  also  have  recommended  that  major  curricular 
changes  be  made  to  include  natural  sciences  as  part  of  a 
liberal  arts  education. 

In  the  last  few  years,  there  also  has  been  increasing 
recognition  of  the  impact  of  human  activities  and 
advances  in  technology  on  our  planet.  Although  much 
concern  has  been  generated  by  highly  publicized 
catastrophes,  both  real  and  threatened,  such  as  oil  spills, 
plastic  pollution,  and  global  warming,  there  is  growing 
interest  and  fear  about  the  long-term  habitability  and 
survival  of  the  Earth. 

The  oceans  are  an  excellent  place  for  understanding 
these  concerns  and  their  long-term  implications,  and 
they  are  an  excellent  place  to  teach  science. 

As  a  natural  system,  the  oceans  present  physical, 
chemical,  geological,  and  biological  principles  in  a 
dynamic  environment  that  everyone  can  readily  appre- 
ciate. Their  high  level  of  complexity  and  degree  of  unpredictability 
allow  students  at  any  level  to  carry  out  experiments  and  answer 
their  own  questions. 

The  oceans  involve  students  in  multi-disciplinary  problems  that 
cut  across  traditional  subject  boundaries.  Furthermore,  the  oceans' 
fluid  nature  and  worldwide  circulation  mean  that  local  activities 
affecting  the  marine  environment  can  have  a  global  impact.  The 
oceans  integrate  environmental  awareness  and  science  education. 

Use  of  the  marine  environment  to  teach  science  so  far  has  been 
relatively  unexploited.  There  is  a  tendency  to  view  marine  science 
as  the  domain  of  scientists  conducting  research  in  private  and 
government  institutions,  colleges,  and  universities. 

In  fact,  students 
seriously  interested  in 
pursuing  graduate 
studies  in  the  field  are 
advised  to  first  obtain  a 
firm  grounding  in  the 
basic  sciences  while 
undergraduates  so  they 
may  apply  this  to  the 
ocean  system  at  a  later 
stage.  But  without 
some  early,  engaging 
exposure  to  learning 
about  the  ocean,  how 
do  young  people 


Rebecca  Buchthal 

(above)  aboard  the  SSV 

Westward  presents  her 

research  on  Florida 's 

spiny  lobsters. 


Sea  Semester  students 

(below)  deploy  a 

Neuston  net  from  SSV 

Westward. 


Simple 
observations 
of  the  oceans 
can  be  used  to 

introduce 
basic 

physical, 
chemical,  and 

biological 

principles. 


become  motivated  to  pursue  careers  as  marine  scientists? 

In  a  recent  informal  survey  of  a  group  of  practicing  oceanogra- 
phers  conducted  by  Dr.  Leslie  K.  Rosenfeld  (a  physical  oceanogra- 
pher  at  the  University  of  Miami's  Rosenstiel  School  of  Marine  and 
Atmospheric  Sciences),  the  most  important  experience  that  deter- 
mined their  career  choice  was  participation  in  research  which,  for 
many,  occurred  during  summer  field  courses.  Incorporation  of  the 
ocean  system  into  science  curricula  at  all  educational  levels  can  only 
serve  to  increase  awareness  about  marine  research  and  the  possibili- 
ties for  careers  in  the  marine  field.  This  is  critical  if  there  is  to  be  a 
continuing  supply  of  students  entering  careers  in  marine  science. 

For  the  typical  liberal  arts  student,  who  is  going  to  pursue  a 
non-scientific  career  and  yet  will  be  faced  with  public  policy 
decisions  that  are  based  on  scientific  arguments,  basic  science 
courses  can  seem  abstract  and  irrelevant  to  their  daily  experiences 
and  something  to  be  avoided.  However,  most  students  today  are 
concerned  about  preservation  of  the  environment.  Converting  this 
interest  into  creative  inquiry,  bolstered  by  explanation  of  observa- 
tions, is  a  powerful  way  to  involve  students  in  science. 

For  younger  students,  simple  observations  about  our  oceans  can 
be  used  to  introduce  basic  physical,  chemical,  and  biological  prin- 
ciples in  the  context  of  the  natural  world,  as  opposed  to  teaching 
exclusively  from  abstract  examples  out  of  textbooks  or  from  experi- 
ments that  have  little  to  do  with  the  students'  life  experiences. 

At  higher  levels,  students  apply  this  knowledge  of  basic  scien- 
tific principles  to  investigate  further  the  characteristics  of  the  ocean 
system.  In  essence,  structuring  the  learning  of  science  around 
observations  of  the  students'  own  world  brings  relevancy  to  what  is 
viewed  by  many  as  an  esoteric  and  abstract  subject.  The  excitement 
of  "discovery"  is  an  important  part  of  scientific  inquiry  that  can  be 
realized  when  students  make  their  own  observations  of  the  world 
around  them. 

Clearly  any  educational  reforms  that  emphasize  the  applica- 
tion of  scientific  inquiry  into  the  natural  world  must  involve 
students  in  some  practical  experiences.  During  the  last  19 
years,  the  Sea  Education  Association  (SEA)  in  Woods  Hole,  Massa- 
chusetts, has  been  experimenting  with  this  idea,  initially  with 
undergraduates  selected  from  universities  all  over  the  country. 
More  recently,  SEA's  programs  have  involved  school  teachers  in  an 
effort  to  help  them  make  science  learning  at  other  educational  levels 
more  relevant  and  exciting. 

The  theme  of  SEA's  programs  is  the  marine  environment  as 
seen  through  application  of  scientific  research  at  sea.  In  the  under- 
graduate program,  basic  scientific  principles  are  used  to  explain 
how  our  oceans  work.  In  the  teachers'  programs,  the  oceans  are 
used  as  a  theme  to  introduce  basic  scientific  principles  into  the 
classroom. 

A  brief  description  of  the  structure  of  SEA's  undergraduate 


48 


program  known  as  "Sea  Semester"  is  necessary  in  order  to  put 
further  comments  into  context.  Each  Sea  Semester  is  designed  to  be 
part  of  an  undergraduate  liberal  arts  education.  Presently,  50 
percent  of  those  students  attending  SEA  are  science  majors,  45 
percent  are  non-science  majors,  and  5  percent  have  not  yet  declared 
their  major. 

The  semester-long  program  is  dedicated  to  learning  about  many 
aspects  of  the  ocean  world  through  six  weeks  of  course  work  ashore 
in  Oceanography,  Nautical  Science,  and  Maritime  Studies.  This  is 
followed  by  six  weeks  aboard  a  research  sailing  vessel,  during 
which  the  students  participate  in  research  as  well  as  vessel  opera- 
tions. 

One  of  the  most  important  outcomes  of  developing  a  pro- 
gram around  a  natural  system  is  its  approach,  which  by 
necessity  is  multi-disciplinary  and  integrated.  In  general, 
conventional  science  programs  do  not  explore  the  interrelations 
among  the  sciences  in  a  situation  that  is  meaningful  to  the 
students,  much  less  the  interrelations  between  the  sciences  and 
non-sciences. 

Students  are  commonly  unaware  that  the  physical  principles 
determining  weather  patterns  and  wind  directions  also  can  be 
applied  to  ocean  circulation.  Or  that  oceanographic  characteristics 
often  play  a  vital  role  in  fisheries  disputes.    Or  that  in  steering  a 
vessel  by  magnetic  compass  while  accounting  for  variation,  they  are 
using  the  same  physical  phenomena  that  geologists  use  to  date  the 
ocean  floor.  In  addition,  incorporating  maritime  literature  written 
from  the  forecastle  and  the  quarterdeck  enhances  the  students'  own 
experiences  of  going  to  sea. 

Practical  experience  also  gives  students  an  opportunity  to 
conduct  research  and  discover  the  way  science  progresses.  Typi- 
cally, science  courses  become  means  of  transmitting  factual  informa- 
tion through  lectures,  textbooks,  and  laboratory  activities.  Students 
are  presented  with  "the  scientific  method"  as  dogma,  and  follow  it 
carefully  in  lab  exercises.  Once  given  a  chance  to  conduct  scientific 
research,  students  quickly  realize  there  are  many  approaches  to 
appreciating  that  research  requires  creativity,  both  in  the  design  of  a 
project  and  in  the  interpretation  of  data.  And  that  "doing  science" 
only  means  adopting  a  creative,  rigorous,  and  logical  approach  to 
finding  the  answer  to  a  question. 

The  limitations  of  conventional  methods  of  teaching  science 
become  evident  as  SEA  students  go  through  the  process  of 
designing  and  completing  their  research  projects.  For  many  of 
them,  especially  those  with  perhaps  only  one  college-level  science 
course,  this  is  the  first  time  they  have  been  expected  to  complete  a 
scientific  research  project,  and  they  are  filled  with  apprehension 
about  their  ability  to  handle  independent  research. 

The  science  courses  they  have  taken  have  not  given  them  an 
appreciation  of  how  to  go  about  scientific  inquiry.  Though  they 


Conventional 

science 

programs  do 

not  explore 

the 

interrelations 

among  the 

sciences  in  a 

way  that  is 

meaningful  to 

students. 


49 


Trying  to 

collect  data 
on  the  high 

seas  quickly 
dispels  the 
glamour  of 
working  in 

the  ocean  as 
typically 

portrayed  by 
the  media. 


have  been  involved  in  "hands-on"  science  projects,  they  find 
themselves  ill-prepared  for  in-depth  research.  This  suggests  that 
"hands-on"  learning  can  be  as  ineffective  as  any  other  teaching 
technique  unless  the  students'  interest  is  aroused,  their  minds 
involved,  and  they  have  some  responsibility  for  the  results.  This 
latter  stipulation,  responsibility  for  the  results  of  their  actions, 
whether  it  be  deciding  where  to  take  a  sample  or  changing  the 
ship's  course  to  reach  the  next  science  station,  is  critical  to  successful 
education  in  a  practical,  "hands-on"  situation. 

There  is  an  interesting  consequence  of  science  being  presented 
in  the  conventional  way  through  textbooks,  which  typically 
present  ideas,  facts,  and  laboratory  exercises  that  always 
work  and  usually  reconfirm  or  demonstrate  an  already  known  fact. 
That  consequence  occurs  when  students  go  in  the  field  and  collect 
data  for  a  project,  and  discover  that  they  are  not  prepared  for  the 
possibility  that  their  data  may  not  fit  their  hypotheses.  The  common 
responses  from  astonished  students  are  that  their  project  "has  not 
worked"  or  their  data  "are  wrong!"  The  idea  that  perhaps  their 
original  hypothesis  was  incorrect  does  not  occur  to  them.  They  are 
simply  used  to  lab  activities  that  work  and  prove  a  point. 

Another  important  aspect  of  practical  experience  in  science 
education  is  the  exposure  of  students  to  the  realities  of  working 
within  the  system  they  are  studying.  Natural  systems  are  complex, 
unpredictable,  and  continuously  changing.  Trying  to  collect  data  in 
a  torrential  rainfall  or  in  high  seas  quickly  dispels  the  glamor  of 
working  in  the  ocean  as  typically  highlighted  by  the  media.    The 
difficulties  that  marine  scientists  face  in  conducting  research  also  are 
conveyed  by  this  experience,  and  this  increases  students'  awareness 
that  limitations  are  imposed  on  the  scientists'  ability  to  further 
knowledge. 

The  type  of  program  described  here  involving  intensive  study 
of  the  ocean  system  is  best  suited  to  the  undergraduate  level. 
Presently,  there  are  a  number  of  marine  field  stations  that 
offer  programs  to  college  students,  thereby  providing  valuable 
opportunities  for  practical  experience  for  both  the  science  and  non- 
science  major. 

Of  34  organizations  surveyed  in  1989,  there  were  131  different 
courses  offered  of  a  week  or  longer  in  duration  by  23  organizations 
(25  responded  to  the  survey).  Of  these,  the  majority  were  courses  in 
a  specialized  topic,  with  only  9  percent  providing  general  marine 
science  or  oceanographic  experience.  If  the  goal  is  to  produce  a 
citizenry  informed  about  the  oceans,  the  number  of  multi-disciplin- 
ary courses  needs  to  be  increased. 

But  studies  of  the  ocean  can  begin  long  before  the  college  level 
as  a  way  to  introduce  students  to  basic  scientific  principles.  Al- 
though it  is  unrealistic  to  expect  every  student  to  learn  all  they  can 
about  science  through  direct  observation  of  the  natural  world, 
classroom  and  field  activities  can  be  developed  that  allow  students 


50 


*  I 


to  "discover"  scientific  ideas. 

If  the  concept  of  marine 
science  as  one  of  the  themes 
for  science  education  is  to  be 
enhanced,  teachers  must 
become  acquainted  with  the 
subject  material,  become 
excited  about  the  marine 
environment,  and  develop 
classroom  and  field  activities 
that  illustrate  underlying 

scientific  principles.  Examples  of  such  activities  include  introducing 
waves  and  their  general  characteristics  by  direct  observations  or  in  a 
simple  wave  tank,  studying  buoyancy  and  Archimedes'  principle 
through  loading  and  unloading  model  boats,  teaching  vectors  using 
navigation  problems,  and  illustrating  density  by  modelling  deep 
ocean  circulation. 

These  ideas  will  take  time  to  develop,  but  the  outcome  could 
provide  the  next  generation  with  an  appreciation  of  the  relevance  of 
science  to  themselves  and  to  the  future  of  their  environment. 


Students  work  in  the 
shipboard  lab  complet- 
ing analyses  on  their 
individual  research 
projects. 


Susan  Humphris  is  Dean  of  the  Sea  Education  Association  and  an 
Adjunct  Scientist  at  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution. 


Results  of  the  1990  Readership  Survey 

To  the  2,500+  persons  who  responded  to  the  Readership  Survey  distributed  last 
Spring,  we  thank  you  for  answering  the  questions,  and  for  offering  your  valuable 
comments.  We  received  numerous  requests  to  publish  the  results,  so  we  note  some 
of  the  highlights  here. 
Quality  o/Oceanus: 

•  More  than  95  percent  of  the  respondents  found  the  magazine  to  be 
accessible,  with  understandable  and  informative  illustrations,  and 
good  or  excellent  editorial  quality.  Ninety  percent  felt  that  the  design 
of  the  publication  was  attractive.  Ninety-two  percent  refer  to  back 
copies  of  Oceanus  occasionally  or  frequently,  and  most  retain  their 
copies  for  four  or  more  years. 

Demographics: 

•  Seventy-seven  percent  Male  and  23  percent  Female;  average  age  is 
49  years. 

Employment: 

•  Thirty-four  percent  of  the  respondents  are  employed  in  an  academic 
field,  27  percent  in  a  field  of  applied  marine  science,  and  13  percent  in 
the  military. 

Educational  Background: 

•  Fifty-six  percent  hold  graduate  degrees  of  which  more  than  23 
percent  are  doctorates. 


51 


Muses 


in  the 


Rigging 


Music,  Education,  and  the  Sea 


by  Tom  Goux 


ust  what  might  Terpsichore  and  Calliope  have  to  say 
to  Clio  and  Urania  about  Poseidon's  mysterious 
domain?  On  occasion  I  have  seen  the  muses  of 
singing  and  poetry  consult  with  the  muses  of  history 
and  science — regarding  how  mortals  come  to  learn 
about  the  sea. 

Tell  me,  Muse,  about  the  man  of  many  turns,  who  many 
Ways  ivandered  when  he  had  sacked  Troy's  holy  citadel; 
He  saw  the  cities  of  many  men,  and  he  knew  their  thought; 
On  the  ocean  he  suffered  many  pains  within  his  heart, 
Striving  for  his  life  .  .  . 

— Homer,  opening  lines  of  Odyssey 

The  sea  and  music:  big  subjects.  For  tellers-of-tales,  for  poets 
and  bards  through  the  ages,  the  sea  is  music.  From  Homer  to 
Hemingway,  there  is  the  echo  of  the  howling  sea-storm,  the  pulse  of 
the  rolling  swell.  In  this  electronic  century,  composers  like  Claude 
Debussy,  Benjamin  Britten,  and  Percy  Grainger  have  set  great 
symphonic  tides  in  motion  as  the  sound  of  their  music  has  washed 
over  the  entire  globe.  For  them,  for  me,  for  many,  music  is  a  sea:  a 
wondrous,  deep  expanse  filled  with  wonder  and  surprise. 

Music  holds  and  sometimes  hides  secrets  of  an  astonishing  past 
and  offers  for  our  discovery,  myriad  possibilities,  pleasures,  and 
puzzlements.  And  this,  of  course,  is  how  the  teachers  and  students 
of  things  maritime  and  marine  view  the  ocean. 

"Wouldst  thou," — so  the  helmsman  answered, 
"Learn  the  secret  of  the  sea? 
Only  those  who  brave  its  dangers 
Comprehend  its  mystery!" 

— Longfellow,  Hie  Secret  of  the  Sea 


52 


The  rousing 
sea  chantey 
changes  the 

view  from  the 

dunes,  puts 

packet  ships 

on  the 

horizon,  even 
animates  the 

figureheads  in 

the  maritime 

museums. 


For  some  15  years  I  have  collected  the  songs  and  poetry  of  the 
sea  (traditional  and  contemporary  music  and  verse  of  seafaring  folk 
in  North  America,  the  British  Isles,  and  other  places).  This  endeavor 
has  been  a  special  part  of  my  teaching  and  learning  life.  I  have 
presented  this  material  to  a  great  variety  of  listeners  in  concert, 
museums,  school  lectures,  demonstration  situations,  and  teacher 
educational  workshop  settings. 

During  these  years,  while  singing  and  playing  throughout  the 
New  England  region  and  residing  in  a  community  of  prominent 
oceanographers  and  marine  biologists,  I  have  watched  all  manner  of 
"students"  learn  about  maritime  and  marine  subjects. 

From  Boston  Harbor  we  set  sail, 
And  the  wind  wuz  blowin'  a  devil-of-a-gale! 
With  the  ring-tail  set  all  abaft  the  mizzen  peak, 
And  the  dolphin  striker  ploughin'  up  the  deep. 

— Boston  Harbor,  a  traditional  chantey 

At  one  end  of  that  student  spectrum,  there  is  the  guy  who's 
been  dragged  (by  well-meaning  friends  or  relations)  to  a 
concert  or  museum  event,  or  a  group  of  senior  citizens  who 
pulled  up  at  the  National  Seashore  Visitors'  Center  on  Cape  Cod- 
folks  who  happened  on  a  scene,  who  stumbled  across  a  story  being 
told,  but  were  not  ready  to  listen.  For  these  "learners,"  music  can 
turn  the  educational  tide.  The  19th  century  sailor's  ballad,  or  the 
rousing  sea  chantey,  changes  the  view  from  the  dunes,  puts  packet 
ships  and  fisherfolk  on  the  horizon,  even  animates  the  figureheads 
and  ships  models  in  the  maritime  museum  salon. 

Oh,  the  pilot  comes  up  and  these  words  he  does  say, 

"Get  ready,  my  boys,  your  ship's  goin'  away" 

We  braced  all  her  yards  and  we  gave  her  the  slip, 

And  down  Boston  Harbor  that  packet  did  rip! 

And  now  we  are  sailin'  down  off  of  Cape  Cod, 

WJiere  many  a  hard  flashy  packet  has  trod, 

The  wind  it  breezed  up  and  the  sea  they  did  boil, 

And  at  eight  bells  that  night  we  clewed  up  our  main  royal! 

— Hie  Dom  Pedro,  a  traditional  fo'c'sle  song 

At  the  other  end  of  the  student  spectrum  is  the  very  focused, 
intense  setting,  such  as  a  gathering  at  the  Sea  Education  Association 
(SEA)  in  Woods  Hole,  Massachusetts,  which  involves  participants  in 
what  might  be  called  a  totally  sea-related  educational  experience. 
Its  six-week  curriculum  ashore  extends  into  and  is  uniquely  ampli- 
fied by  another  six-week  period  of  ocean-going  study  aboard  a  large 
sailing  vessel  (see  article  page  46). 

It  was  in  this  setting  that  I  was  first  asked  to  "sing  a  few  sea 
chanteys"  and  speak,  as  a  contributor  to  the  humanities  component 


54 


of  the  course,  about  the  ancient  and  on-going  traditions  of  music  at 
sea.  At  the  outset  then,  this  music  was  part  of  a  history  syllabus,  but 
music,  once  it  is  being  sounded,  is  not  history:  it  joins  us  in  the 
moment.  For  me  (and  many  SEA  students)  music-and-the-sea 
became  much  more  than  a  happy  evening  of  sea  chanteys. 

In  the  middle  ground,  between  the  intensity  of  the  SEA  experi- 
ence and  the  happenstance  of  the  random  visitor  at  the  maritime 
site,  there  are  all  sorts  of  school,  institute,  festival  and  workshop 
settings — places  where  learner  and  teacher  have  deliberately  come 
together  with  varying  degrees  of  interest  and  involvement. 

The  teaching  function  of  the  maritime  museum,  the  museum  of 
natural  history,  and  the  modern  aquarium  has  vastly  ex- 
panded in  recent  years.  It  is  in  places  like  museums  that  many 
people  are  first  exposed  to  the  disciplines  of  marine  science  and 
maritime  history. 

Museums  are  great  places  to  watch  (and  maybe  help)  people 
learn  about  the  sea.  On  any  given  day,  visitation  to  a  place  such  as 
the  Kendall  Whaling  Museum  of  Sharon,  Massachusetts,  Mystic 
Seaport  of  Mystic,  Connecticut,  or  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  can  bring  a  broad  spectrum  of  interest  (or  disinter- 
est) through  the  door.  The  artifacts  are  astounding  and  the  informa- 
tion and  insight  offered  through  careful  curatorial  and  interpretive 
efforts  are  truly  remarkable.  However,  old  stuff  from  the  past  lying 
silently  in  glass  cases  can  possess  a  certain  morbidity.  Need  these 
accomplishments  of  men  be  mute  in  their  afterlife?  Cannot  these 
reflections  of  ambition  and  endeavor  be  preserved  along  with 
echoes  of  their  times?  Of  course  they  can.  In  any  room  full  of 
artifacts,  there  most  likely  exists  retrievable  melodies  and  verses  to 
fill  that  room  with  musical  sound  and  sentiment. 


In  any 

museum  room 

of  artifacts, 

there  exist 

retrievable 

melodies  and 

verses  to  fill 

that  room. 


55 


When  white 

sailors  came 

into  contact 

with  black 

seamen,  a  new 

chemistry 

resulted  and 

vigorous 

worksongs 

developed 

known  as 

chanteys. 


As  with  the  historical  objects  themselves,  careful  collection, 
preparation,  and  presentation  is  crucial.  The  maritime  institutions 
mentioned  previously,  and  others  (the  USS  Constitution  Museum  at 
the  Charlestown  Navy  Yard  in  Massachusetts,  the  maritime  wing  of 
the  Smithsonian's  Museum  of  American  History  in  Washington) 
have  musical  and  other  aural  elements  in  their  programs  that  not 
only  breathe  life  into  their  collections,  but  into  their  clientele  as  well! 
The  music  I  use  in  these  situations  begins  with  sailors'  songs  of  the 
last  century — chanteys,  ballads,  and  ditties  of  the  age  of  sail — but  by 
no  means  ends  there. 

The  chantey,  in  and  of  itself,  is  an  interesting  musical  and 
historical  occurrence.  In  purely  historical  terms,  the  chantey, 
the  blood-and-bone  work-song,  a  specialty  of  the  Yankee  and 
British  seafarer,  is  rich  and  wonderful.  As  Dr.  Stuart  M.  Frank, 
Director  of  the  Kendall  Whaling  Museum,  has  written: 

In  the  Age  of  Cotton,  early  in  the  19th  century,  when  that  great 
Southern  cash  crop  was  a  mainstay  of  the  young  republic,  Yankee  and 
British  ships  carried  raw  cotton  from  Southern  ports  to  the  factory 
towns  of  the  North  and  to  England  and  beyond.  Most  of  the  laborers 
who  loaded  the  bales  were  black,  many  of  them  slaves  hired  out  by 
their  masters  for  this  arduous  work  of  sleeving  or  screwing  cotton.  Like 
their  ancestors  in  West  Africa  and  their  kinfolk  harvesting  cotton  on 
plantations  in  the  American  South,  these  stevedores  tended  to  sing  at 
their  work:  solo-and-response  songs  with  a  lead  singer,  and  the  crew 
joining  in  on  the  choruses.  The  style  is  familiar  in  so-called  Negro 
spirituals  and  chain-gang  work-songs. 

Sailors  had  been  long  accustomed  to  singing  on  shipboard,  and 
Navy  crews  commonly  worked  to  the  rhythms  of  fiddles,  fifes,  and 
drums.  But  when  the  white  sailors  came  into  contact  with  these  Afro- 
American  longshoremen — and,  eventually,  when  some  of  the  black 
dockworkers  went  to  sea  as  sailors — a  new  chemistry  resulted,  and  a 
vigorous,  hybrid  repertoire  of  shipboard  work-songs  developed  that 
came  to  be  known  as  chanteys  (pronounced,  and  sometimes  spelled, 
shanties)." 


Wlien  I  was  a  young  man  and  in  my  prime,  Wai/  down  in  Florida! 
I  chased  them  yaller  gals  two  at  a  time!  An'  we'll  roll  the 

woodpile  down! 

Rollin'!  rollin'!  rollin' the  whole  worl' round, 
That  brown  gal  o  mine's  down  the  Georgia  Line, 
An'  we'll  roll  the  woodpile  down! 

— Roll  the  Woodpile  Down,  a  traditional  chantey 

But  work  songs  were  certainly  not  the  only  songs  of  the  watery 
world  of  Sailor  Jack.  In  many  ways,  shipboard  life  was  a  society 
unto  itself,  and  the  musical  entertainment  of  that  society  came  from 
within.  Dr.  Frank  continues: 


56 


Like  people  everywhere,  sailors  wanted  to  fill  their  precious  leisure 
hours  with  music.  Songs  of  any  kind  might  do,  and  sailors  are  known 
to  have  sung  whatever  was  popular  ashore,  as  well  as  old  ballads,  "sea 
songs"  on  nautical  themes  and  sundry  ditties  of  sailor  manufacture. 
Like  many  chanteys  (work  songs),  many  of  these  fo'c'sle  songs  (so 
called  after  the  forecastle,  where  typically  the  crew  lived  aboard  ship 
and  passed  much  of  their  off-hours  time)  gave  voice  to  the  triumphs 
and  deprivations  of  sailor  life,  in  yarns  about  events  at  sea,  women 
ashore  and  the  hapless  plight  of  Jack  Tar.  .  .  .  And  while  chanteys  were 
the  exclusive  province  of  the  common  seamen  (who  sang  them  at  their 
work),  after-hours  music  was  everyone's  domain. 

Officers  and  shipmasters — as  well  as  captains'  wives  and  families 
on  so  called  "hen  ships" — were  as  likely  as  anyone  to  enjoy  music  and 
to  participate  in  occasional  musical  entertainments  held  on  many 
vessels  for  the  pleasure  of  all.  Richard  Henry  Dana,  and  many  seafar- 
ing men  and  women  in  their  letters  and  diaries,  have  remarked  that  a 
"musical  ship"  was  likely  to  be  happier  than  any  other. 

Dr.  Frank  himself  fitted-out  a  "musical  ship"  as  the  founder  of 
the  sea  chantey  program  at  the  Mystic  Seaport  Museum  in  Mystic, 
Connecticut.  At  Mystic  Seaport  the  music  of  coastal  and  deep-water 
sailors,  along  with  a  great  variety  of  nautical  skills,  is  being 
revived,  practiced,  and  experienced  by  museum  personnel  and 
visitors;  offered  in  something  very  close  to  an  authentic 
setting. 

Similar  things  happen  at  the  Maine  Maritime 
Museum  in  Bath,  where  curator  Robert  L. 
Webb,  another  nautical  music  expert, 
reminds  us  that  sailors  of  old  began  to 
sing  just  as  soon  as  they  joined  a 
ship's  company.  Surrounded  by 
strangers,  taking  directions  from  new 
bosses,  learning  new  tasks,  they  actually  joined  a  new 
society.  The  chantey  paced  the  work  and  helped  make 
the  boat  go,  but  a  good  song,  a  hearty  chorus  raised 
by  all  hands,  helped  give  heart  to  the  social 
order  of  the  fo'c'sle,  relieved  tensions,  and 
helped  define  the  rules  of  shipboard  life 
perhaps  unwritten  or  even  unspoken. 

The  Ebenezer  was  so  old,  sir, 
She  knew  Columbus  as  a  boy,  sir, 
Pump  her,  bullies,  night  and  day, 
To  help  us  get  to  Liverpool  Bay. 
Wet  hash  it  was  our  only  grub,  sir, 
For  breakfast,  dinner  and  for 

supper, 
The  bread  was  as  hard  as  any 

brass 


Going  to  sea 
can  be  one  of 

the  few 

situations 

where  people 

must  provide 

music  for 

themselves. 


And  the  meat  was  as  salt  as  Lot's  wife's  ass! 

— TJie  Ebenezer — a  traditional  chantey 

When,  in  our  day  and  age,  students  of  the  sea  go  to  sea,  there 
are  occasions  when  these  same,  apparently  timeless,  things  happen. 
Here  are  the  comments  of  Captain  Carl  Chase,  an  expert  in  two 
fields:  he  holds  a  degree  in  music  from  Harvard  University  and 
certification  as  a  ship's  master.  For  many  years,  he  was  one  of  the 
teaching  captains  for  SEA  aboard  the  SSV  Westward: 

In  reflecting  on  what  I  have  observed  of  music-making  at  sea,  I 
realize  that  in  these  days  "going  to  sea"  can  be  one  of  the  few  situations 
where  people  are  thrown  back  on  their  own  resources  to  provide 
themselves  with  music.  Of  course  this  need  not  be  so — you  can  bring 
along  a  Walkman  and  tape  collection — but,  in  the  SEA  program  and 
other  circumstances  under  which  I  have  spent  most  of  my  time  at  sea, 
this  was  not  permitted!  At  SEA,  Walkmans  were  banned  to  discourage 
people  from  withdrawing  from  the  group  and  "zoning  out"  under 
headphones.  Furthermore,  on  my  trips  anyway,  I  rarely  if  ever 
allowed  the  playing  of  recorded  or  radio  music  on  the  ship.  My  stated 
reason  for  this  was  consideration  for  each  other  in  a  crowded  setting. 
My  unstated  reason  was  to  create  a  musical  void,  which  I  knew  people 
would  soon  fill  by  making  their  own  music — which  would  then 
become  a  meaningful  part  of  the  fabric  of  shipboard  life  and  daily 
routine. 

Being  captain,  I  was  in  a  position  to  aid  and  abet  this  process,  but  it 
would  have  and  did  happen  on  other  trips  as  well,  where  the  leaders 
were  not  "musical  types." 

What  actually  happened  was  no  different  from  what  has  gone  on 
since  the  beginning.  People  would  eventually  overcome  initial  shyness 
and  begin  to  sing  and /or  play  instruments.  They  would  sing  to  pass 
the  time  (at  the  wheel,  on  lookout  duty),  they  would  sing  to  make  the 
work  go  easier  (in  the  galley,  scrubbing  the  ship),  they  would  sing  to 
vent  feelings,  and  they  would  sing  and  play  to  entertain  each  other. 

At  first  the  material  would  be  familiar:  current  songs  from  what 
they  knew  and  liked  ashore.  These  would  be  the  songs  that  everybody 
knew.  Singing  them  served — as  ever — to  bring  the  group  closer 
together.  Eventually,  often  surprisingly  quickly,  one  or  more  of  these 
would  emerge  as  group  favorites  and  begin  to  be  personalized — words 
added  or  changed,  whole  verses  made  up,  or  a  special  arrangement 
worked  out  with  particular  instrumentation  or  interpretation.  Now  it 
became  their  song. 

On  many  occasions,  the  ultimate  (in  my  opinion)  happened  and 
someone — or  a  collaboration — would  present  an  entirely  original  song. 
Nine  times  out  of  ten  this  would  be  a  true  shanty  or  calypso  in  that  it 
would  hide  some  more  or  less  serious  social  commentary  under  the 
facade  and  guise  of  innocent  music  and  lyrics.  Thus,  in  the  1980s,  just 
as  for  centuries  past,  we  had  crew  members  roasting  their  superiors, 


58 


lamenting  the  lack  of  sex  and  alcohol,  and  expressing  deep  sadness  at 
the  prospect  of  leaving  good  friends — potentially  heavy  emotional 
issues  harmlessly  vented  through  music! 


Well,  I  really  can't  complain,  this  cruise  sure  has 
been  swell; 

I've  learned  to  do  without  the  things  I  love  so  well. 
Still  when  we  hit  port,  I  don't  know  which  I'll  do 
first,  I  guess  it  all  depends  on  which  thirst  is  worse 

For  beer,  sex,  beer,  sex,  beer,  sex,  beer,  sex,  beer 

Chorus:  Take  your  pick! 

—The  Westward  Blues,  by  David  O.  Brown,  W-72 

The  need  for  music  must  be  basic  to  the  species.  Nowadays  we  are 
usually  oversaturated,  but  it  doesn't  take  long  for  the  need  to 
reassert  itself  when  we  are  confronted  with  an  environment  which 
hasn't  any.  .  . 

— excerpt:  Sail  on  the  Westivard 

It's  obvious  Captain  Chase  values,  as  did  other  master  mariners 
before  him,  the  presence  of  music  on  board.  Not  simply  because 
it  makes  for  a  jolly  ship,  but  because  it  can  help  open  the  mind 
in  a  way  that  instructions  may  not,  in  a  way  that  (dare  I  say  it?) 
instructors  might  not.  The  point  is,  that  SSV  Westward  is  a  teaching 
environment:  Carl  Chase  knows  that  the  reception  of  information, 
of  concepts,  of  what  the  learning  situation  has  to  offer  is  facilitated, 
energized,  and  enhanced  by  the  attendance  of  the  Muses! 

We  set  sail  on  the  blue-green  ocean 

'Til  the  land  was  out  of  sight, 

'We  watched  dolphins  as  they  gaily 

romped 

And  splashed  in  the  morning  light. 

We  felt  the  salty  sea  spray 

As  we  travelled  from  day  to  day, 

Beneath  the  stars  we  quietly  sailed 

On  the  path  of  the  Milky  Way. 

Chorus. 

We've  had  many  things  to  laugh  about 
We've  had  times  both  high  and  low, 
We  started  out  as  strangers  here 
Now  together  we  all  will  go. 
WJjen  I'm  down  and  out,  when  I'm  weary, 
And  I'm  tired  at  the  end  of  the  day, 
I'll  think  of  those  starry  evenings 
On  the  path  of  the  Milky  Way. 

Chorus. 
— Sail  on  the  Westward,  by  Chrissy  King,  W-57 


Crew 

members 
roasted  their 

superiors, 
lamented  the 

lack  of  sex 

and  alcohol, 

and  expressed 

deep  sadness 

at  the 

prospect  of 

leaving  good 

friends. 


59 


Marine 

studies  and 

maritime 

history 

programs  use 

music  to 

"sweeten"  the 

curricular 

content, 

especially  for 

the  beginning 

student. 


What  can  be  seen  in  these  various  settings  where  people,  by 
conscious  act  or  otherwise,  present  themselves  as  learners  about  the 
sea,  is  a  dynamic  sorely  affected  by  the  element  of  artful  sound  and 
language.  It's  curious  to  me  that  the  predisposition  of  the  student  is 
often  somehow  unrelated  to  this  effect.  Both  the  individual  who 
happens  to  stumble  into  the  maritime  exhibit  and  the  serious 
student,  who  may  have  traveled  hundreds  of  miles  and  spent 
thousands  of  dollars  for  his  or  her  oceanic  edification,  are  equally 
surprised,  somewhat  changed  by  the  addition  of  a  carefully  pre- 
pared aural  component.  Care  and  preparation  are  as  crucial  here  as 
in  any  educational  formula,  for  we  are  talking  about  much  more 
than/'i/sf  a  sound  track  in  the  aforementioned  cases. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  situations  where  music  can  serve, 
and  honorably  so,  as  just  a  sound  track.  I'm  speaking  of  the  marine 
studies  and  maritime  history  programs  that  admittedly  use  music  to 
"sweeten"  the  curricular  content,  especially  for  the  beginning 
student.  Although  this  technique  is  ubiquitous  in  our  TV-Age 
educational  environment,  and  at  times  thoroughly  repugnant  in  its 
excess,  there  are  several  fine  examples  of  "background"  music 
serving  as  more  than  an  ornament. 

Floating  in  the  childhood  memories  of  many  of  us  are  the 
soundtracks  of  Disney  nature  films  and  Cousteau  television 
specials.  Unforgettable  for  many  (especially  those  of  us 
growing  up  in  a  post-World  War  II,  Cold  War  America)  is  Richard 
Rodgers'  dynamic  score  for  the  television  series  Victory  at  Sea— 
human  drama  and  musical  power  blended  into  the  ultimate  naval 
history  lecture. 

Presently,  on  a  smaller  scale,  but  with  hopefully  far-reaching 
effects,  we  see  the  educational  series  The  Voyage  of  the  Mimi,  a  Bank 
Street  College  project  in  marine  science  and  mathematics,  and  the 
satellite-network  teaching  efforts  of  Dr.  Robert  D.  Ballard  and  the 
Jason  Project  (see  Oceanus  Vol.  33,  No.  1)  as  examples  of  music  being 
turned  to  account. 

When  it  comes  to  video-packaged  sea  education,  music  is  part 
of  the  rigging.  If  it  is  not  there,  or  poorly  done,  the  educational 
voyage  might  end  well  short  of  landfall. 

Oh,  the  times  was  hard  and  the  wages  low, 

Leave  her,  Johnny,  leave  her! 

But  now  once  more  ashore  we'll  go, 

And  it's  time  for  us  to  leave  her! 

Leave  her,  Johnny,  leave  her, 

Oh,  leave  her,  JoJinny,  leave  her! 

For  the  voyage  is  done  an'  the  winds  don't  blow, 

An'  it's  time  for  us  to  leave  her! 

—Leave  Her,  Johnny,  Leave  Her — a  traditional  chantey 

As  it  was  for  the  ancient  mariner,  so  it  is  for  the  casual  museum 


60 


visitor,  likewise  for  the  serious  student  of  marine  and  maritime 
subjects:  there  are  certain  things  that  help  prepare  us  for  what 
comes  our  way — things  that  open  us,  that  intensify  or  temper  our 
conscious  reception,  our  ability  to  relate  and  to  process.  Learning 
and  teaching  is  forever  a  fluid  procedure  of  opening  (to  see),  of 
closing  (to  focus),  of  expanding  the  receptive  spirit,  of  sharpening 
and  intensifying  the  interest,  of  conjuring  or  discovering  things 
unbeknownst.  For  all  who  lead  others  to  the  window  of  a  particular 
discipline,  a  certain  body  of  knowledge  and  experience — for  teach- 
ers— those  things  that  help  make  the  learner  truly  ready  to  receive  are 
all-important.  Music  is  one  of  those  things — and  a  good  one. 


Tom  Goux  is  a  teacher  in  the  Falmouth,  Massachusetts,  school 
system.  He  is  also  a  traveling  troubadour  of  nautical  music. 


"Popularization" 

It  is  usually  found  that  only  stuffy  little  men  object  to 
what  is  called  'popularization/  by  which  they  mean 
writing  with  a  clarity  understandable  to  one  not  familiar 
with  the  tricks  and  codes  of  the  cult.  We  have  not  known 
a  single  great  scientist  who  could  not  discourse  freely  and 
interestingly  with  a  child.  Can  it  be  that  the  haters  of 
clarity  have  nothing  to  say,  have  observed  nothing,  have 
no  clear  picture  of  even  their  own  fields? 

— John  Steinbeck  and  Ed  Ricketts 
in  Tlie  Log  from  the  Sea  of  Cortez 


61 


The  Changing 
Face 

'of 
Maritime 

Education 


by  Geoff  Motte 


laritime  academies  are  diversifying  their 
teaching  efforts  by  offering  new  degree 
programs  as  a  way  of  combatting  slumping 
enrollment.  In  general,  academies  such  as 
I  Massachusetts  Maritime  (MM  A),  Maine 
Maritime,  and  the  U.S.  Merchant  Marine  Academy  at 
Kings  Point,  New  York,  are  experiencing  a  drop  in 
enrollment  of  about  20  percent.  This  drop  is  largely 
attributed  to  the  shrinking  number  of  overall  high  school 
students  graduating  across  the  nation. 

The  drop  in  enrollment  comes  at  a  time  of  significant 
demand  for  maritime  academy  graduates.  In  general, 
all  academy  cadets  can  expect  to  have  two  or  three  jobs 
to  pick  from  when  they  graduate  with  starting  salaries  in 
excess  of  $30,000  a  year. 

The  Massachusetts  Maritime  Academy  plans  to  offer 
degrees  in  facilities  and  plant  engineering  as  well  as 
marine  environmental  protection.  The  Maine  Maritime 
Academy  will  be  offering  degrees  in  boat  building  and 
marina  operations.  The  U.S.  Merchant  Marine  Academy 


62 


at  Kings  Point  does  not  plan  to 
diversify  at  this  time  because  the 
drop  in  enrollment  actually  helps 
their  federal  budget  position. 

A  good  ocean-going  mariner 
must  be  provided  with  a  sound 
base  of  relevant  technical  educa- 
tion for  optimum  blend  with 
seagoing  experience.  It  is  appro- 
priate that  topics  such  as  weather 
forecasting  and  practical  seaman- 
ship be  taught  in  concert  with 
techniques  for  the  safe  operation 
of  today's  huge  ULCCs  (Ultra 

Large  Crude  Carriers),  LNG  (Liquified  Natural  Gas)  carriers,  and 
container  ships. 

Computer  applications  and  knowledge  of  complex  electronic 
shipboard  systems  are  as  important  to  efficient  ship  opera- 
tions as  are  an  understanding  of  the  vagaries  of  the  ocean 
environment  and  just  plain  good  old-fashioned  seamanship. 

For  a  seagoing  engineer,  improvisational  skills  imparted  via  the 
machine  shop  go  hand  in  glove  with  obtaining  the  highest  possible 
operating  efficiency  from  the  20,000-60,000  shaft  horsepower  (shp) 
slow-speed  diesel  or  steam  turbine  propulsion  plant  that  drives 
today's  modern  merchant  ship. 

To  provide  a  responsive  educational  experience  for  future 
mariners,  the  faculty  at  the  Massachusetts  Maritime  Academy  is 
establishing  a  good  foundation  of  general  education  in  the  freshman 
and  sophomore  years,  gradually  introducing  the  technical  subjects 
as  knowledge  of  mathematics,  physical  sciences,  computers  and 
ability  to  analyze  and  report  increases.  Extensive  use  of  specialized 
engineering  and  navigation  labs  and  training  simulators  follows  in 
the  junior  and  senior  years. 

To  complement  this  approach  to  general  and  technical  educa- 
tion, each  cadet  sails  for  at  least  three,  two-month  cruises 
onboard  the  Academy's  primary  laboratory — its  training  ship 
Patriot  State.  Highly  experienced  instructors,  typically  master 
mariners  or  chief  engineers,  are  responsible  for  technical  compo- 
nents of  both  the  shoreside  and  seagoing  training.  Thus,  a  strong 
educational  interaction  is  secured  between  classroom  education  and 
seagoing  training.  This  feature  is  at  the  very  heart  of  a  successful 
preparatory  education  for  seagoing  officers. 

Contrary  to  popular  belief,  there  are  tremendous  job  opportuni- 
ties for  well-trained  mariners.  Although  the  deep-sea  fleet  is  greatly 
reduced  from  the  Vietnam  support  days,  many  of  its  officers  are 
close  to  retirement  age.  The  Academy's  Placement  Office  recently 
reported  80  job  interviews  in  a  single  day.  In  the  Spring,  the  Mili- 
tary Sealift  Command's  personnel  hiring  team  was  on  campus  for 


Maritime  cadets 
(above)  in  seamanship 

lab  are  taught 

techniques  of  block 

and  tackle. 


63 


The  facilities 

and  plant 

engineering 

field  is  a 

profession 

that  is  rapidly 
expanding. 


what  the  Placement  Director  refers  to  as  a  "million  dollar  day." 
MSC  was  interviewing  for  20  seagoing  positions  having  a  total  first 
year  salary  potential  of  about  $1  million. 

The  paramilitary  nature  of  a  cadet's  daily  life  develops  leader- 
ship and  management  skills  valued  by  a  wide  range  of  employers. 
Engineering  graduates  confidently  assume  operational  responsibili- 
ties for  large  seagoing  engineering  power  plants  and  associated 
auxiliaries  and  systems.  Deck  graduates  develop  additional  team 
management  skills  and  an  appreciation  for  the  legal  and  environ- 
mental concerns  of  ship  operation.  Such  skills  are  in  demand  ashore 
as  well  as  at  sea;  and  the  Academy,  through  its  Board  of  Trustees,  is 
in  the  process  of  providing  additional  prospects  for  its  graduates  by 
broadening  the  curriculum. 

The  Academy,  after  carefully  considering  10  new  majors 
ranging  from  ocean  engineering  to  applied  oceanography  and 
from  maritime  management  to  environmental  engineering, 
has  settled  on  two  new  majors.  A  Bachelor  of  Science  program  in 
facilities  and  plant  engineering  will  be  introduced  this  fall,  to  be 
followed  hopefully  by  a  similar  program  in  marine  environmental 
protection  to  commence  in  the  fall  of  1991. 

The  facilities  and  plant  engineering  program,  which  closely 
parallels  an  existing  marine  engineering  major,  emphasizes  the 
operation  and  maintenance  requirements  of  shoreside  rather  than 
seagoing  power  plants  and  associated  systems.  Approximately  half 
the  curriculum  is  devoted  to  fundamental  courses  in  basic  sciences, 
social  science,  mathematics,  and  the  humanities. 

The  remaining  courses  are  a  combination  of  theoretical  and 
applied  engineering  with  special  emphasis  on  "hands-on"  engineer- 
ing laboratory  experience.  The  curriculum  also  includes  four  six- 
week  cooperative  sessions  with  industry  to  provide  valuable  on-the- 
job  experience  that  may  also  lead  to  employment  opportunities. 

In  lieu  of  these  cooperative  sessions,  a  student  can  choose  to 
cruise  on  the  Patriot  State  to  gain  direct  operating  experience 
with  an  18,000-shp  steam  plant.  A  student  in  this  major  can 
commute  from  an  off-campus  residence  or  live  in  a  campus  dormi- 
tory as  part  of  the  corps  of  cadets.  Almost  a  hundred  graduates, 
mainly  former  seagoing  engineers,  are  employed  as  operating 
engineers  and  managers  of  large  engineering  facilities  and  power 
plants  within  the  region.  This  new  program  provides  direct  educa- 
tional access  to  a  profession  that  is  rapidly  expanding. 

The  proposed  program  in  marine  environmental  protection, 
with  courses  in  Law  of  the  Sea  and  tanker  operation  and  pollution 
control,  more  closely  parallels  the  existing  marine  transportation 
major.  This  new  major  is  presently  in  the  planning  stages  and  it  is 
hoped  that  a  cooperative  approach  will  result  between  faculty  and 
staff  at  MMA  and  those  at  the  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institu- 
tion (WHOI).  We  expect  to  deliver  a  unique  and  useful  program 
answering  some  of  the  personnel  needs  in  the  field  of  environmen- 


64 


tal  protection  of  the  ocean  and 
the  coastal  zone. 

There  is  a  growing  need  for 
knowledgeable  individuals  in 
the  area  of  environmental  law 
in  order  to  provide  for  intelli- 
gent enforcement  of  legislation. 
The  primary  purpose  of  the 
proposed  program  is  to  pro- 
vide the  academic  and  techni- 
cal exposure  necessary  to 
prepare  professionals  in  this 
field. 

In  developing  the  curricu- 
lum, five  principal  areas  of 
program  structure  have  been 
considered: 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 


m 


Pollution  Prevention 

Fisheries  and  Species  Protection 

Waste  Disposal 

Coastal  Wetlands 

Ports  and  Harbors 
The  total  program  will  combine  a  strong  foundation  of  general 
education  with  a  series  of  scientific  and  legal  courses  covering  the 
field  of  environmental  regulations.  The  program  will  be  coordi- 
nated, for  MMA,  by  Dr.  Malcolm  MacGregor  and,  for  WHOI,  by  Dr. 
John  Farrington  (see  introduction). 

The  face  of  maritime  education  is  certainly  changing.  We 
anticipate  considerable  benefit  to  the  future  graduates  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Maritime  Academy  and  hopefully  to  all  concerned  mem- 
bers of  the  ocean  community. 


A  maritime  cadet 

(above)  in  a  machine 

shop  learns  to  produce 

engine  parts  on  a  lathe. 


An  instructor  (below) 

sJiows  maritime  cadets 

how  to  operate  a 

computer  system 

similar  to  those  used  to 

run  diesel  engines. 


Captain  Geoff  Motte  is  Vice 
President  of  Academic  Affairs 
and  Maritime  Training  at  the 
Massachusetts  Maritime 
Academy,  Buzzards  Bay. 


Scientific 
Illiteracy 


ARM 

-..•  •-•:•£  . 

BODY  DISK  , 


We 


Enemy  and  /,. '•; .•: ;  ;vf 

f' ''.'•  ••'^''•.'v-      ^ 


STARFISH 


by  Joseph  Levine 


I  or  the  first  several  years  of  life,  young  chil- 
dren are  endlessly  fascinated  with  the  world 
around  them.  Just  try  to  stop  kids  from 
asking  the  questions  scientists  want  to  an- 
(swer!  Why  do  birds  sing?  Where  does  the 

tide  go?  What  makes  waves?  Why  can't  we  swim  here 

anymore?  Where  do  babies  come  from?  Why  did 

grandpa  die? 

How  is  it,  then,  that  most  people  leave  science  classes 

either  bored  stiff  or  downright  disgusted,  many  with  a 

vow  never  to  touch  the  stuff  again? 

It's  because  all  the  life  in  the  "life  sciences" — the 


66 


excitement,  the  feeling  of  discovery,  the  challenge,  the  drama,  the 
relevance  to  daily  life — are  ruthlessly  squeezed  out  by  our  educa- 
tional process.  Look  over  high  school  and  college  biology  curricula, 
and  you'll  find  precious  few  of  the  fascinating  stories  of  "how  we 
know  what  we  know."  Very  little  (if  any)  time  is  spent  on  the 
process  of  science,  and  only  a  minimal  effort  is  invested  in  relating 
concepts  to  students'  daily  lives.  There  is  no  time  left  at  all  to 
explain  "why  we  do  not  know  what  we  do  not  know,"  or  to  discuss 
such  related  matters  as  the  uses  and  limitations  of  data,  uncertainty, 
and  risk  assessment.  Instead,  these  courses  concentrate  on  lists  of 
Greek  and  Latin  terms.  The  result?  Courses  that  reward  students' 
ability  to  memorize  and  deaden  any  real  interest  they  might  once 
have  had. 

According  to  polls  conducted  by  organizations  ranging  from 
Gallup  to  the  National  Geographic  Society,  an  astonishing 
27  percent  of  Americans  believe  that  the  sun  revolves 
around  the  earth,  40  percent  cannot  locate  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  a 
map,  and  47  percent  do  not  believe  in  evolution. 

Incidentally,  lest  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  more  complacent 
than  we  should  be,  note  that  half  of  those  who  did  know  that  the 
earth  revolves  around  the  sun  did  not  know  how  long  it  takes;  more 
than  20  percent  guessed  24  hours  instead  of  365.2  days. 

Given  this  level  of  scientific  illiteracy,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
public  has  no  rational  basis  for  evaluating  complex  issues,  such  as 
ocean  dumping,  coastal  zone  management,  offshore  drilling,  loss  of 
global  biodiversity,  acid  rain,  and  ozone  depletion? 

How  has  this  happened?  Or — to  phrase  the  question  in  a  way 
that  can  prod  us  to  action — what  role  has  the  academic  community 
played  in  allowing  this  to  happen? 

No  scientist  or  educator  denies  that  the  situation  is  serious.  Yet 
thus  far  most  academics  refuse  to  make  changes  in  either  individual 
teaching  style  or  institutional  structure  to  address  the  problem. 

It  is  easy  for  us  to  dig  in  our  heels  and  insist  that  our  educational 
methods  should  work  today  as  they  worked  in  the  past.  We  can 
maintain  that  the  techniques  used  to  teach  science  majors  should 
work  for  non-majors  taking  courses  in  elementary  schools,  high 
schools,  and  universities.  We  can  insist  that  there  is  no  reason  why 
an  intelligent,  motivated  student  should  not  learn  biology  as  we 
learned  it. 

It  also  is  easy  to  implicate  other  factors  and  ignore  our  own  role 
in  making  a  bad  situation  worse.  We  can  point  our  fingers  at  a  host 
of  problems  that  "explain"  why  a  system  that  should  be  working  is 
not.  All  these  problems  do,  in  fact,  stand  in  the  way  of  quality 
education,  and  the  attitudes  that  perpetuate  them  must  be  changed. 
But  the  multidimensional  nature  of  the  problem  does  not  exonerate 
us  from  accountability  for  our  active  roles  in  the  tragedy. 

I  say  this  because  after  spending  several  years  writing  textbooks 
and  working  with  public  television  and  radio,  I  have  come  to  a 


Most 

academicians 

refuse  to  make 

changes  in 

either 

individual 

teaching 

style  or 

institutional 

structure  to 

address  the 

problem  of 

scientific 

illiteracy. 


67 


Scientists  are 

addicted  to 

specialized 

terminology 

and  technical 

minutiae, 

essential  to 

them,  but 

irrelevant  to 

the  public  at 

large. 


difficult  conclusion:  despite  the  fact  that  some  of  the  best  ideas  for 
improving  education  come  from  academic  minds,  by  far  the  greatest 
resistance  to  innovation  in  teaching — both  in  the  classroom  and  in 
society  at  large — comes  from  the  same  place. 

Covering  the  entire  relationship  between  the  academic 
community  and  science  education  would  take  an  entire 
book;  John  Burnham  has  done  an  excellent  job  in  his  jer- 
emiad How  Superstition  Won  and  Science  Lost.  Here  I'll  be  content  if  I 
can  present  a  few  of  the  pressing  problems  concerning  high  school 
and  college  textbooks,  curricula,  and  teaching  that  stem  directly 
from  attitudes  and  practices  within  the  academic  community. 

"That  which  we  call  a  rose,"  quoth  Juliet,  "By  any  other  name 
would  smell  as  sweet."  Ah,  but  if  scientists  could  only  feel  the  same 
way  about  their  subject  matter!  To  far  too  many  academics,  unless 
boldfaced  scientific  terms  pepper  most  paragraphs,  the  subject  has 
not  been  covered  adequately.  We  are  addicted  to  specialized 
terminology  and  technical  minutiae,  essential  to  us  as  professional 
scientists,  but  irrelevant  to  the  public  at  large. 

Here's  a  specific  example  of  how  this  attitude  affects  a  non- 
major's  college  text.  My  co-author  and  I  were  told  by  our  editors 
that  we  had  to  double  our  coverage  of  plant  structure  and  function 
to  satisfy  reviewers'  comments.  This  "expanded  coverage"  con- 
sisted mainly  of  terms  that  neither  my  co-author — who  studies  the 
ultrastructure  of  photosynthetic  membranes — nor  I — an  avocational 
botanist  since  high  school — had  used  before  writing  the  book.  If  we 
as  professionals  had  never  encountered  these  terms,  why  should 
non-scientists  be  forced  to  swallow  them? 

But  lest  I  seem  "zoo-partisan,"  animal  biologists  are  hardly 
immune  from  criticism.  Many  embryologists,  for  example,  seem 
unable  to  conceive  of  their  subject  matter  divorced  from  its  labyrin- 
thine terminology.  If  all  these  terms  were  as  important  as  "fertiliza- 
tion," "zygote,"  "placenta,"  or  even  "gastrulation,"  it  would  be  one 
thing.  But  too  many—  -"blastodisc"  "blastomere"  and  "blastocoel" 
to  mention  just  a  few  of  the  "B  words" — are  hardly  of  transcenden- 
tal significance  to  the  average  citizen. 

To  check  a  hunch  about  how  important  such  terms  are  in  the 
context  of  an  introductory  course,  I  used  my  word  processor 
to  check  unfamiliar  words  in  a  few  chapters  before  and  after 
we  responded  to  reviewers'  comments.  Before  revision  roughly  75 
percent  of  the  terms  we  introduced  were  used  more  than  once  in  a 
chapter,  and  20  percent  of  them  were  used  elsewhere  in  the  text. 
Those  terms  were  used  repeatedly  because  they  represented  pro- 
cesses or  structures  that  are  integral  to  the  way  we  look  at  the  living 
world.  But  after  revising  those  chapters — a  process  that  sometimes 
doubled  the  number  of  terms — less  than  40  percent  were  used  more 
than  once.  Most  were  defined,  used  in  a  sentence  once,  and  never 
touched  again. 

This  is  a  widespread  and  serious  problem.  Theodore  Sizer, 


68 


ABORAL  SURFACE 


BODY  D;SK 


chair  of  the  Education  Department  at  Brown  University,  has  esti- 
mated that  the  number  of  new  words  taught  in  high  school  biology 
courses  exceeds  the  number  taught  in  first-year  French!  Another 
educator  estimated  that  students  are  expected  to  swallow  between 
2,400  and  3,000  new  terms  and  symbols  per  science  course.  Given 
class  periods  of  55  minutes  each,  that  translates  into  a  new  term 
roughly  every  two  minutes.  Small  wonder  that  kids  leave  class 
viewing  science  as  a  foreign  language,  rather  than  a  rational  system 
of  thought. 

The  problem  is  exacerbated  by  a  cadre  of  teachers  and  profes- 
sors— spread  out  over  respected  private  and  state  high 
schools,  universities,  community  and 
teachers'  colleges — who  feel  that  terminol- 
ogy is,  in  fact,  the  way  to  teach  science. 
Based  on  our  publisher's  marketing 
studies,  a  distressingly  large  number  are 
not  prepared  to  teach  courses  based  on 
concepts  rather  than  definitions.  At 
least  three  editors — all  of  whom 
have  been  biology  teachers  at  some 
point  themselves — assured  me 
that  "Most  teachers  do  not  want 
to  teach  concepts.  That's  not 
only  difficult,  but  tough  to  test  in 
multiple  choice  format." 

This  counterproductive 
educational  approach  among 
teachers  and  professors  has 
serious  negative  effects  on  the 
textbook  business,  where  we  find  a 
real  catch-22  situation. 

Even  idealistic  textbook 
adopters  want  full-color, 
glossy,  handsomely-produced 
books  with  a  dozen  ancillaries 
(teacher  and  student  guides,  slide  sets, 
test  banks,  and  so  on);  the  former  because 
the  showy  format  appeals  to  students  and  the  latter  because 
ancillaries  make  teachers'  jobs  easier.  Fine.  But  such  books  cost 
more  than  $1.5  million  to  develop  and  launch,  and  publishers  are 
not  in  business  for  pleasure.  The  size  of  that  bottom  line  means  that 
publishers  must  sell  lots  of  books  to  recoup  their  outlay. 

So,  publishers  send  their  manuscripts  out  for  review  to  potential 
adopters.  What  comes  back?  Some  very  good  reviews  that  point 
out  errors,  discuss  outlook  and  content,  propose  treatment  of 
important  concepts  that  have  been  missed,  and  suggest  better 
illustrations  and  examples.  But  there  are  a  distressingly  large 
number  of  narrow-minded,  self-serving  diatribes  railing  "I  would 


ARM 


SPINE  (PAXILLAEI 


STAREISH 

KINGDOM  ANIMALIA 

PHYLUM  ECHINODERMATA 

CLASS  STELLEROIDEA 


69 


Textbooks, 

crammed  with 

more  and 

more  facts 

and  fewer 

concepts,  are 
getting  so 
large  that 

students  will 

soon  need 

forklifts  to 

carry  them  to 
class. 


never  buy  this  book  unless  you  cover. .  .(insert  reviewer's  favorite 
topic)  and  include  the  following  terms. . ."  Rarely  do  such  people 
want  books  to  address  such  questions  as  "How  did  Watson  and 
Crick  deduce  DNA's  structure?"  or  "What  led  Darwin  to  his  theo- 
ries on  evolutionary  change?" 

Combine  publishers'  financial  agendas  with  this  input  from 
the  marketplace  and  you  get  the  driving  force  for  the 
evolution  of  textbooks;  more  facts,  fewer  pages  spent 
developing  concepts,  and  less  storytelling  throughout.  Textbooks 
get  so  large  that  students  will  soon  need  fork  lifts  to  carry  them  to 
class,  but  at  the  same  time  become  less  and  less  effective  as  real 
teaching  tools. 

Many  blame  publishers  for  this  situation.  "They  should  just  put 
out  a  radically  different  book!"  our  colleagues  cry.  But  although 
most  editors  I  know  want  to  do  good  work,  the  corporate  hierarchy 
is  in  business  to  sell  books,  rather  than  to  redefine  educational 
priorities.  "We  can't  afford  to  set  trends,"  one  editor  told  me 
recently.  "We  can  only  follow  them.  That's  why  most  high  school 
texts  are  roughly  10  years  out  of  date."  Welcome  to  the  philosophy 
that  has  allowed  Hondas  to  become  America's  most  popular  car, 

|i 

and  encourages  Hollywood  to  churn  out  "Friday  the  13tn  Part  12" 
and  "Rambo  6." 

Given  the  problems  within  the  academic  community,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  mass  media  are  not  doing  the  best  job  of  educating 
or  informing  the  public.  There  are  a  number  of  good  science 
writers,  primarily  in  print,  but  a  few  in  broadcast  media  as  well. 
Even  the  bright  lights  in  the  crowd,  however,  still  have  to  deal  with 
less  enlightened  gatekeepers.  Face  most  of  these  with  matters 
complex  and  conceptual  in  nature,  and  they  react  with  handwaving. 
"Our  (paper/magazine/news  program)  isn't  the  place  for  that," 
they  cry.  "We  need  straightforward  news  stories."  In  other  words, 


3.  Which 
fnor&  attention 


4.  Which  gets 
more 


a.  a  new 
)a  new  car 


70 


WKy  do  vjou  think 

an  education  proble/n  in 

this  country? 


THINK 


ABORAL  SURF  ACE, 


FLAGELLUM 


BODY  DISK 


PAPULAE 


"Just  the  facts,  ma'am."  Forty  years  ago,  an  editor  at  The  New 
York  Times,  after  killing  a  story  on  cosmic  rays,  explained  his  action 
by  telling  the  reporter  "The  publisher  doesn't  like  cosmic  rays,  and 
neither  do  I.  Furthermore,  let  me  tell  you,  I  do  not  believe  in  atoms 
and  have  but  slight  faith  in  molecules." 

You  wouldn't  want  to  know  how  many  similar — if  slightly 
updated — pronouncements  I've  heard  from  well-placed  magazine 
editors  and  producers  of  science  television  programs.  Many  of 
these  people  have  a  real  love/ hate 
relationship,  not  only  with  science, 
but  with  scientists  as  well.  (That 
relationship  stems,  in  no  small 
part,  from  the  sort  of  science 
education  they  received  at  our 
hands.)  Reacting  as  journal- 
ists, the  majority  of  them 
see  scientific  debates — 
which  we  view  as  the 
heart  and  soul  of  our 
disciplines — as  either 
egotistical  gamesman- 
ship or  spineless  equivo- 
cation. 

The  result  of  this 
jaundiced  view  of  scientific 
discourse  is  the  endless 
flood  of  "tidbit"  or  "gee 
whiz"  science  news  that 
overwhelms  serious,  educa- 
tional science  journalism. 
There  are  exceptions,  of 
course,  especially  among  the 
best  newspapers,  on  National 
Public  Radio,  and  at  certain 
public  television  stations.  But 
when  looking  at  mass  media  in  the 
aggregate,  these  exceptions  are  rare. 

In  summary,  biology  education  has 
been  slipping  away  from  the  teaching  of 
science  toward  the  recitation  of  "facts,"  a 

trend  that  has  serious  repercussions.  For  when  we  teach  isolated 
facts  freed  from  the  process  that  produces  them,  we  abandon 
science  as  "A  way  of  knowing,"  as  a  series  of  rational  techniques  for 
observing  and  understanding  the  world  around  us.  We  may  tell  our 
students  that  science  is  a  process.  We  may  tell  them  that  science  is 
vital  in  the  modern  world.  But  we  should  understand  why  they  do 
not  get  that  message  if  we  bombard  them  with  lists  of  organisms, 
trophic  levels,  chemical  cycles,  and  metabolic  pathways. 


ARM 


TUBEFEET 


PED1CELLAR1AE 


MADREPORITE 


CILIATED 
COLUMNAR 
EPITHELIUM 


SPINE  (PAXILLAE) 


STARFISH 

KINGDOM  ANIMALIA 

SUBKINGDOM  METAZOA 

SECTION  DEUTEROSTOMIA 

PHYLUM  ECHINODERMATA 

SUBPHYLUM  ASTEROZOA 

CLASS  STELLEROIDEA 

SUBCLASS  ASTEROIDEA 

ORDER  FORCIPULATIDA 

FAMILY  ASTERIIDAE 

GENUS  ASTERIAS 

SPECIES  A.  FORBESI 


71 


The  resulting  public  reaction  to  issues  concerning  science  is 
predictable.  "When  men  cannot  observe,"  noted  author  Naipaul, 
"they  do  not  have  ideas,  they  have  obsessions."  As  chillingly 
documented  by  Burnham  and  verified  by  recent  polls,  a  growing 
number  of  people  in  this  country  have  no  understanding  of  science 
whatsoever;  they  either  believe  in  science  or  they  do  not  believe  in 
science,  just  as  they  either  believe  in  ghosts  or  do  not  believe  in 
ghosts.  What  our  approach  to  science  education  does,  therefore,  is 
to  set  our  public  up  to  treat  science  as  a  belief  system — not  unlike 
either  religion  or  superstition — rather  than  as  a  way  of  interacting 
with  the  world  in  a  rational  manner. 

This,  in  turn,  leaves  us  a  step  away  from  another  predicament. 
If  science  is  set  up  in  peoples'  minds  as  a  belief  system,  the 
door  is  left  open  for  those  who  insist  that  religion  (for  ex- 
ample, creationism)  must  be  taught  as  well,  because  there  is  no 
objective  way  to  choose  between  two  equally  arbitrary  systems  of 
belief!  Unfortunately,  if  you  compare  the  way  biology  is  usually 
taught  to  non-majors  with  a  typical  catechism  class,  you  will  find 
more  similarities  than  differences  in  teaching  methods. 

What  can  each  of  us  do  to  work  our  way  out  of  this  mess?  First 
and  foremost,  we  must  understand  that  non-scientists — both  school 
kids  and  adults — have  a  different  mindset  about  science  than 
scientists  do.  That  mindset  isn't  inferior  to  the  scientific  mindset  in 
any  way,  but  it  is  different. 

I  would  never  advocate  that  we  try  to  change  who  we  are  as 
scientists  or  the  way  we  do  science.  That  would  be  both  hypocritical 
and  self-defeating.  But  I  do  argue  that  in  order  for  us  to  communi- 
cate with  the  public — both  in  and  out  of  the  classroom — we  must 
"translate"  information  in  a  way  that  bridges  the  gap  between  our 
world  view  and  that  of  non-scientists.  We  could  retreat  into  the 
argument  that  an  intelligent  public  should  be  able  to  meet  us  on  our 
own  turf.  Unfortunately,  here  and  now,  that  strategy  isn't  working. 
As  educators  we  shouldn't  be  asking  "How  do  we  get  people  to  do 
things  our  way?"  but  "How  can  we  change  our  approach  to  reach 
more  people  with  our  message?" 

Second,  many  more  of  us  must  make  a  commitment  to  improve 
our  teaching  in  as  many  ways  as  possible.  We  must  improve 
our  ability  to  communicate  the  essence  of  inquiry  to  students 
whose  interest  in  science  has  not  been  encouraged.  There  are  many 
ways  to  do  this,  none  of  which  require  us  to  take  courses  in  schools 
of  education.  Courses  in  effective  writing  and  speaking  would  help, 
as  would  increased  and  more  active  interaction  with  members  of 
our  community  who  are  outstanding  teachers,  and  more  construc- 
tive interaction  with  qualified  members  of  the  media  world. 

On  another  level,  we  must  work  within  and  among  depart- 
ments to  present  courses  that  highlight  the  way  science  works  and 
the  impact  of  science  on  individuals,  on  society,  and  on  the  bio- 
sphere. Some  of  these  courses  must  be  interdisciplinary.  It  is 


72 


hard — if  not  impossible — to  engage  in  a  meaningful  discussion  of 
global  ecology  without  involving  more  economic  and  political 
theory  than  most  biologists  are  comfortable  with.  It  is  equally 
difficult  to  discuss  organ  transplants  or  screening  for  genetic 
diseases  without  crossing  the  boundary  between  biomedicine  and 
ethics.  But  because  these  are  precisely  the  sorts  of  issues  in  which 
students  are  most  interested,  we've  got  to  call  in  qualified  col- 
leagues as  guest  lecturers  or  share  the  lectern  with  economists  or 
ethicists. 

Finally,  because  accomplishing  these  goals  will  be  difficult  and 
time-consuming,  we  must  force  so-called  "institutions  of 
higher  learning"  to  really  place  teaching  on  their  priority  list. 
For  as  we  all  know,  despite  lip  service  to  quality  teaching,  most 
colleges  and  universities  (quoting  a  National  Science  Foundation 
[NSF]  report)  perpetuate  "a  value  system  in  which  research  produc- 
tivity and  grantsmanship  are  viewed  as  of  primary  importance, 
while  teaching  and  advising  undergraduates  are  viewed  as  second- 
ary in  importance  and  are  generally  unrewarded."  Until  these 
institutions  include  quality  teaching  among  criteria  for  tenure  and 
promotion,  junior  faculty  will  be  unable  to  commit  the  time  and 
effort,  senior  faculty  will  be  unwilling  to  do  so,  and  graduate 
students  will  see  that  refining  teaching  skills  isn't  worth  the  time  it 
takes. 

There  are  some  encouraging  signs.  NSF  has  offered  new  initia- 
tives that  include  a  grant  program  to  improve  introductory  level 
science  teaching.  This  program,  Undergraduate  Curriculum  and 
Course  Development  in  Engineering,  Mathematics,  and  the  Sciences: 
Introductory  Level,  awards  grants  competitively  in  the  standard 
manner,  includes  summer  salary  and  overhead,  and  encourages 
multi-disciplinary  and  interdisciplinary  approaches.  This  may  be 
the  first  step  in  placing  teaching  on  a  par  with  research,  for  it  allows 
faculty  interested  in  teaching  to  bring  money  and  prestige  to  their 
institutions  as  their  research-oriented  colleagues  do. 

Joseph  Levine  is  founder  of  Boston  Science  Communications,  Inc., 
which  produces  educational  films  and  products.  Author  of  two 
popular  books,  many  magazine  articles,  and  co-author  of  two 
biology  textbooks,  he  earned  a  Ph.D.  at  Harvard,  and  taught  for  five 
years  at  Boston  College. 


In  a 

meaningful 

discussion  of 

global 

ecology, 

biologists 

must  share 

the  lectern 

with 

economists 

and  political 

scientists. 


This  article  has  been 
adapted  from  one  that 
originally  appeared  in 
the  Marine  Biological 
Laboratory  publica- 
tion MBL  Science, 
Spring  1990. 


73 


LETTERS 


To  the  Editor: 

I  read  with  great  interest  the  article 
"Changing  Climate  and  the  Pacific"  (Winter 
1989/90,  Vol.  32,  No.  4,  pp.  71-73)  because 
the  results  of  at  least  two  decades  of  archaeo- 
logical work  on  both  Pacific  Islands  and 
continental  areas  have  suggested  that  past 
dynamics  of  holocene  geomorphological 
change,  subsidence,  uplift  and  eustatic  sea 
level  change  have  been  substantial  in 
altering  the  landscapes  that  we  see  in  the 
Pacific  today. 

On  Upolu  in  Western  Samoa,  for 
instance,  the  earliest  archaeological  site  yet 
discovered,  at  Mulifanua,  lies  110  m.  off 
shore  from  the  present  ferry  berth  and  is 
encrusted  with  sheet  coral  under  2  meters  of 
water.  Tongan  sites  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Tonga  Trench  are  often  inland  behind 
former  standlines  that  are  now  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  shore.  At 
Niuatoputapu  in  the  Tongan  Archipelago, 
Pat  Kirch  from  UC-Berkeley  has  shown  that 
land  area  almost  doubles  during  3000  years 
of  human  settlement,  while  in  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  there  has  been  considerable 
progradation  at  Kawainui  Swamp,  Oahu 
and  on  the  leeward  side  of  Molokai.  On 
Touhou  islet  on  Kapingamarangi  atoll 
virtually  the  total  landmass  of  96,000  m3  was 
culturally  redeposited,  suggesting  to  the 
excavators  that  Touhou  is  an  artificial  islet 
like  some  of  those  off  the  coast  of  Malaita  in 
the  Solomons. 

The  whole  suggests  that  there  are  many 
factors  involved  in  apparent  sea  level 
changes,  but  shows  definitively  that  the 
history  of  human  settlement  in  the  form  of 
archaeological  evidence  should  come  into 
play  at  some  point  as  witnesses  to  these 
dynamics  in  the  past.  The  past  offers  us 
lessons  that  we  can  not  ignore  in  our 
projections  into  the  future. 

Thomas  J.  Riley 
Head 

Department  of  Anthropology 
Univ.  of  Illinois  at  Urbana-Champaign 


To  the  Editor: 

Henry  Stommel's  "Island  Fancies  on 
Fleets  of  Neutrally-Buoyant  Floats"  (Winter, 
1989/90,  Vol.  32,  No.  4,  pp  93-96)  is  a 
delightful  continuation  of  the  work  in  this 
field  dating  from  the  1960s.  In  1967, 1  was 
invited  to  Woods  Hole  to  work  with  Douglas 
Webb  and  others  on  my  current-following 
gadget,  the  SWIB,  or  SHALLOW  WATER 
ISOBARIC  BUOY.  The  SWIB  moved  up  and 
down  in  response  to  density  differences. 
SWIB  used  carbon  dioxide  cylinders  to 
change  the  volume  of  a  piston  thus  increas- 
ing or  decreasing  the  density  of  the  instru- 
ment. This  caused  the  device  to  sink  or  rise. 

In  the  summer  of  1966, 1  gave  a  talk  on 
SWIBS  in  Moscow  where  I  discussed  isobaric 
buoys  with  Alvin  Vine,  John  Isaacs,  and 
other  distinguished  ocean  mavens.  Work  on 
the  SWIB  was  followed  by  proposals  for  free 
floating  OSCULATING  BUOYS,  neutrally 
buoyant  floats  that  would  oscillate  between 
a  fixed  isobaric  level  and  the  surface.  In  the 
Journal  of  Ocean  Technology  (Vol.  2  No.  1, 
1967)  we  suggested  that  "A  buoy  could  be 
programmed  to  descend  to  particular 
depths,  take  readings  as  it  drifts  with  the 
currents,  and  then  rise  to  the  surface  to 
transmit  its  data..."  OSCULATING  BUOYS 
would,  when  desired,  rise  to  kiss  the  surface, 
hence  the  name. 

Stommel  seems  to  be  proposing 
OSCULATING  BUOYS  with  a  self-powered 
directional  capability.  Though  how  his 
gadgets  could  draw  their  power  from  the 
"stratification  of  the  ocean"  is  unclear  to  me. 
Well  why  not? 

The  SWIB  and  OSCULATING  BUOY 
concepts  were  in  advance  of  1960s  thinking. 
I  am  pleased  to  see  Stommel's  floating  buoy 
dreams  in  print.  If  mankind  does  not  blow 
itself  up  someday  they  will  be  realized. 

Cy  A.  Adler 

New  York,  NY 

(Editor's  Note:  Adler  is  author  of  Ecological 
Fantasies-Death  From  Falling  Watermelons.) 


74 


BOOK  REVIEWS 


3  Ballard  Books  Due  to  be  Published 


Determined  to  leave  no  adventure 
unturned,  Dr.  Robert  D.  Ballard, 
senior  scientist  and  head  of  the 
Deep  Submergence  Laboratory  at  the  Woods 
Hole  Oceanographic  Institution,  and 
likewise  a  writer,  private  entrepreneur, 
television  documentary  host,  and  spokes- 
man for  creative  science  education,  is  testing 
the  waters  of  thriller  fiction  writing. 

Ballard  is  best  known  for  his  ocean 
frontier  explorations  through  such  efforts  as 
the  Jason  Project  (see  Oceanus,  Vol.  33,  No. 
1).  He  and  his  oceanographic  team  have 
taken  television  and  telepresence  viewers  on 
journeys  to  subsea  mountain  ranges  and 
bottomlands  at  a  depth  of  16,000  feet  via 
underwater  manned  and  unmanned  vehicles 
named  Alvin,  Argo,  Jason  and  Medea  in 
search  of  historical  sunken  ships — The 
Titanic,  Bismarck,  his,  Hamilton,  and 
Scourge — in  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic, 
Mediterranean,  and  Lake  Ontario. 

Now  Ballard  is  exploring  the  depths 
of  his  own  imagination,  culling  his 
journals,  and  ships'  logs  to  create 
with  New  York  writer,  Tony  Chiu,  his  first 
spy  thriller  for  publication  in  the  summer  of 
1991. 

"The  challenge  to  me,"  said  Ballard, 
"was  could  I  write  an  exciting  fictional  novel 
that  was  technically  accurate  and  without 
sex  and  violence." 

Described  by  Ballard  as  "unique  in  that 
it  is  technically  impeccable,"  the  novel's 
story  is  built  around  the  actual  loss  in  the 
late  1960s  of  an  Israeli  submarine  called 
Dakar,  which  is  Hebrew  for  shark.  Pur- 
chased from  England  and  lost  on  its  maiden 
voyage  somewhere  in  the  Mediterranean, 
the  sub's  mission  has  always  been  a  mystery. 

Set  in  a  1987  to  1989  time  frame, 
interwoven  with  actual  world  events  then, 
the  saga  entails  three  central  characters;  a 
woman  Navy  lieutenant,  a  male  oceanogra- 
pher,  and  a  retired  submarine  officer.  The 
tale  hinges  on  America's  concern  about 
nuclear  proliferation. 

In  addition,  coming  out  October,  1990, 


are  two  books  recently  completed  by  Ballard 
and  a  writing  team  at  Madison  Press  of 
Toronto,  Canada,  publishers  of  the  books. 
One  is  a  children's  book  entitled  The  Wreck  of 
the  Isis,  and  the  second,  which  is  geared 
toward  an  adult  audience,  is  The  Bismarck. 

Based  on  1989's  Jason  Project  in  the 
Mediterranean,  The  Wreck  of  the  Isis  consists 
of  two  stories  told  in  tandem.  One  story  is  a 
fictionalized  version  of  the  ship's  journey 
from  the  time  it  set  sail  from  Carthage  in  355 
A.D.  to  the  moment  of  its  sinking  in  stormy 
Mediterranean  seas.  It  is  a  tale  told  through 
the  eyes  of  a  young  boy  named  Antonius, 
whose  father  owned  Isis,  and  it  leads  to  the 
ship's  sinking,  with  Antonius  being  rescued. 

Alternating  chapters  relate  the  Jason 
Project's  discovery  of  Isis  1,545  years  later. 
Colorful  and  artistic  throughout,  the  book 
features  photographs  and  original  artwork. 


Tracers  in  the  Ocean 

Edited  by  H.  Charnock,  J.  E.  Lovelock, 
P.  S.  Liss,  and  M.  Whitfield 

Trace  elements  have  been  used  to  improve 
understanding  of  ocean  currents  and  the  mixing 
of  the  oceans;  the  behavior  of  trace  elements  in 
biological  and  inorganic  systems  and  processes; 
and  the  carbon  cycle,  climate  change,  and  the 
greenhouse  effect.  These  papers  present  these 
techniques  and  results  for  researchers  in  ocean- 
ography and  related  fields. 
Paper  $19.95  ISBN  0-691-02443-X 
Cloth:  $50.00  ISBN  0-691-08571^ 
AT  YOUR  BOOKSTORE  OR 

Princeton  University  Press 

41  W1UJAM  ST.  •  PRINCETON,  NJ  08540  •  (609)  25W900 
ORDERS  800-PRS-ISBN  (777-4726) 


75 


In  its  epilogue,  Ballard  and  his  team  of 
explorers  explain  what  they  learned  from 
their  studies  then,  and  what  the  Jason  Project 
continues  to  achieve  educationally  with 
thousands  of  students. 

The  Bismarck  book  is  designed  with  a 
format  similar  to  Ballard's  past  books, 
an  encompassing  epic  tale  of  history, 
tragedy,  and  rediscovery  (  see  Oceanus,  Vol. 
32,  No.  3).  Highlights  include  extensive 
original  artwork  commissioned  from  artists 
in  the  United  States,  England,  Canada,  and 
West  Germany. 

Featured  are  captivating  paintings  by 
Los  Angeles  artist  Ken  Marschall,  who 
brought  Ballard's  book,  The  Titanic,  vividly 
to  life,  and  historic  World  War  II  photos 
researched  from  European  naval  archives. 
The  book's  text  was  likewise  a  team  effort 
among  researchers,  historical  experts, 
writers  and  editors  working  with  Ballard. 

Both  books  are  significant  to  Ballard  not 
only  because  they  comprise  all  that  he  has 
learned  about  their  subjects,  but  because 
they  are  dedicated  to  his  first  son,  Todd  Alan 
Ballard,  who  shared  the  experiences  with 
him,  and  who  one  month  after  their  comple- 
tion died  in  a  car  accident. 

When  asked  about  the  increasing  public 


curiosity  of  whether  Dirk  Pitt,  hero  of  Clive 
Cussler's  science  fiction  adventure  novel, 
Raise  The  Titanic,  and  subsequent  adventure 
novels,  was  drawn  from  his  personality, 
Ballard  reeled  with  laughter. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,  "  said  Ballard.  "I've 
been  called  Carl  Sagan  with  gills,  the  young 
Cousteau,  Indiana  Jones,  and  now  I'm  being 
called  Dirk  Pitt.  But,  I'm  just  Bob  Ballard, 
that's  all." 

Available  in  bookstores  in  October,  The 
Bismarck  will  be  a  hardcover  publication 
priced  at  $35.00.  The  Wreck  of  the  Isis  will  be 
available  in  both  hard  and  soft  cover  for 
$15.95  and  $6.95,  respectively. 

— Kathy  Sharp  Frisbee 

Editorial  Assistant 

Oceanus  magazine 

Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institution 


T1HIIE  CREST 


OF  TIHME 
WAV  IE 


ADVENTURES    IN    OCEANOGRAPHY 


mint 


AUTHOR     OF     WAVES     AND      BEACHES 


A  lifetime  of  science  — 
and  adventure. 

For  more  than  40  years,  Willard 
Bascom  has  explored  the  seas  in 
search  of  knowledge.  He  has  measured 
waves  and  probed  the  ocean  floor, 
pioneered  SCUBA  diving  and  devel- 
oped underwater  mining  techniques, 
assessed  the  impact  of  pollution  and 
searched  for  sunken  treasure.  And  all 
the  wonder  and  excitement  of  his  dis- 
coveries are  brought  brilliantly  to  life 
in  this  engaging  autobiography. 

'Gripping  and  beautifully  written 
tales  of  exotic  high  adventure." 

-San  Francisco  Chronicle 

Also  available  from  Anchor  Books: 
WAVES  AND  BEACHES 


ANCHOR  BOOKS 

A  division  of  Bantam  Ooubteday  Dell 
Publishing  Group,  toe. 


BOOKS  RECEIVED 


BIOLOGY 


Guide  to  the  Marine  Isopod 
Crustaceans  of  the  Caribbean,  by 

Brian  Kensley  and  Marilyn  Schotte; 
1989;  Smithsonian  Institution  Press, 
Washington,  DC;  308  pp.  -  $35.00. 

North  Atlantic  Studies:  Whaling 
Communities,  edited  by  Elisabeth 
Vestergaard;  1990;  Centre  for  North 
Atlantic  Studies,  Aarhus  University 
Press,  Denmark;  220  pp.  -  240  DKK. 

Orcas  of  the  Gulf:  A  Natural 
History,  by  Gerard  Gormley;  1990; 
Sierra  Club,  San  Francisco,  CA;  189 
pp.  +  v  -  $10.95. 


ORIGINAL 

ANTIQUE  MAPS 
&  SEA  CHARTS 

US.  &  WORLDWIDE 


GRACE  GALLERIES,  INC 

75  Grand  Avenue 

Englewood,  N.J.  07631 

(201)  567-6169 

Call  or  write  for  listings 
Mon.-Fri.  9:30-5  p.m.      Sat.  10-2  p.m. 
MARINE  PAINTINGS  •  PRINTS 


The  Pinnipeds:  Seals,  Sea  Lions, 
and  Walruses,  by  Marianne 
Riedman;  1990;  University  of 
California  Press,  Berkeley,  CA;  439 
pp.  +  xxiv  -  $29.95. 


ENVIRONMENT 


1 


Carbon  Dioxide  and  Global 
Change:  Earth  in  Transition,  by 
Sherwood  B.  Idso;  1989;  IBR  Press, 
Tempe,  AZ;  292  pp.  +  iv.  -  $19.95. 

Common  Heritage  or  Common 
Burden?  :  The  United  States 
Position  on  the  Development  of  a 
Regime  for  Deep  Sea-Bed  Mining 
in  the  Law  of  the  Sea  Convention, 
by  Markus  G.  Schmidt;  1990; 
Oxford  University  Press,  Gary, 
NC;  31 7pp. +  v -$72.00. 

Design  for  a  Livable  Planet:  How 
You  Can  Help  Clean  Up  the 
Environment,  by  Jon  Naar;  1990; 
Harper  &  Row,  New  York,  NY;  338 
pp.  +  x  -  $12.95. 

Fire  and  Ice:  The  Greenhouse 
Effect,  Ozone  Depletion  &  Nuclear 
Winter,  by  David  E.  Fisher;  Harper 
&  Row,  New  York,  NY;  232  pp.  - 
$19.95. 

The  Next  One  Hundred  Years: 
Shaping  the  Fate  of  Our  Living 
Earth,  by  Jonathan  Weiner;  1990; 
Bantam  Books,  New  York,  NY;  312 
pp.  -  $19.95. 

World  Resources:  A  Guide  to  the 
Global  Environment,  Report  by 
The  World  Resources  Institute; 

1990;  Oxford  University  Press,  New 
York,  NY;  367  pp.  +  viii  -  $29.95. 


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The  Yosemite,  photos  by  Galen 
Rowell,  narrative  by  John  Muir; 
1989;  Yolla  Bolly  Press,  Covelo, 
CA;  221  pp.  -  $40.00. 


FISHERIES 


Hawaiian  Reef  Animals,  Revised 
Edition,  by  Edmund  Hobson  and 
E.H.  Chave;  1990;  University  of 
Hawaii  Press,  Honolulu,  HI;  137  pp. 
+  xiii  -  $19.95. 

Light  and  Life  In  The  Sea,  edited 
by  Peter  J.  Herring,  Anthony  K. 
Campbell,  Michael  Whitfield  and 
Linda  Maddock;  1990;  Cambridge 
University  Press,  NY;  298  pp  +  xxiv 
-$59.60.  ' 

Management  of  World  Fisheries: 
Implications  of  Extended  Coastal 
State  Jurisdiction,  edited  by 
Edward  L.  Miles;  Institute  for 
Public  Policy  and  Management  and 
Institute  for  Marine  Science  of  the 
University  of  Washington,  Seattle, 
WA;  318  pp.  +  xiv  -  $30.00. 


C 

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Silver:  The  Life  Story  of  an 
Atlantic  Salmon,  by  Roderick  L. 
Haig-Brown;  1989;  Lyons  & 
Burford,  New  York,  NY;  91  pp.  - 
$15.95. 

Winds  of  Change:  Women  in 
Northwest  Commercial  Fishing,  by 

Charlene  J.  Allison,  Sue-Ellen 
Jacobs,  and  Mary  A.  Porter;  1990; 
University  of  Washington  Press, 
Seattle,  WA;  174  pp.  +  xviii  -  $25.00. 


MARINE  POLICY 


In  the  Wake  of  the  Exxon  Valdez: 
The  Devastating  Impact  of  the 
Alaska  Oil  Spill,  by  Art  Davidson; 
1990;  The  Sierra  Club,  San  Fran- 
cisco, CA;  315  pp.  +  xi  -  $19.95. 

Managing  Troubled  Waters:  The 
Role  of  Environmental  Monitor- 
ing, edited  by  Sheila  A.  Mulvhill; 
1990;  National  Academy  Press, 
Washington,  DC;  125  pp.  +  x  - 
$24.50. 

The  Ocean  in  Human  Affairs, 

edited  by  S.  Fred  Singer;  1990; 
International  Conference  on  the 
Unity  of  the  Sciences,  New  York, 
NY;  374  pp.  -  $34.95. 

Oceans  of  Wealth?,  edited  by  K.R. 
McKinnon;  1989;  Australian 
Government  Publishing  Service, 
Canberra,  Australia;  188  pp.  +  xx  - 
$29.95. 


OCEANOGRAPHY 


Antarctic  Sector  of  the  Pacific, 

edited  by  G.P.  Glasby;  1990; 
Elsevier  Science  Publishers  B.V., 
Amsterdam,  The  Netherlands;  324 
pp.  +  xv  -  $97.50. 

Developments  in  Hydrobiology: 
Sediment/Water  Interactions  IV, 

edited  by  P.G.  Sly  and  B.T.  Hart; 
1989;  Kluwer  Academic  Publishers, 
Norwell,  MA;  533  pp.  -  $235.00. 

New  Explorers:  Women  in  Antarc- 
tica, by  B.  Land;  1981;  Dodd  Mead, 
New  York,  NY;  224  pp.  -  $9.95. 

Oceanography  1988/Proceedings  of 
the  Joint  Oceanographic  Assem- 
blies, edited  by  Agustin  Ayala- 
Castanares,  Warren  Wooster,  and 
Alejandro  Yanez-Arancibia, 
Universidad  Nacional  Autonoma 
de  Mexico,  Consejo  Nacional  De 
Ciencia  Y  Technologia,  and 
UNESCO. 

Year  2000  Challenges  for  Marine 
Science  Training  and  Education 
Worldwide,  UNESCO  Reports  in 
Marine  Science;  1988;  United 
Nations  Educational,  Scientific  and 
Cultural  Organization,  Paris, 
France. 

Women  on  the  Ice:  A  History  of 
Women  in  the  Far  South,  by  E. 

Chipman;  1986;  Melbourne 
University  Press,  Melbourne, 
Australia;  224  pp.  -  $28.50. 


REFERENCE 


The  Emperor's  New  Mind: 
Concerning  Computers,  Minds, 
and  The  Laws  of  Physics,  by  Roger 
Penrose;  1989;  Oxford  University 
Press,  New  York,  NY;  449  pp.  +  v  - 
$24.95. 


78 


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editorial  offices. 


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Every  Sea-Bird  temperature 
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Engineering,  Seafood  Technology,  and  more... 

To  receive  the  next  four  colorful  issues,  send  a  $5.00 
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Photography  and  the  Art  of 
Seeing,  by  Freeman  Patterson; 
1989;  Sierra  Club  Books,  San 
Francisco,  CA;  156  pp.  -  $17.95. 

Photography  of  Natural  Things, 

by  Freeman  Patterson;  1989; 
Sierra  Club  Books,  San  Francisco, 
C A;  168  pp. -$17.95. 

The  Threat  and  the  Glory:  Reflec- 
tions on  Science  and  Scientists,  by 

Peter  Medawar;  1990;  Harper 
Collins  Publishers,  New  York,  NY; 
227  pp.  -  $22.50. 


Port  Engineering,  Volume  1: 
Harbor  Planning,  Breakwaters, 
and  Marine  Terminals,  by  Per 
Bruun;  1989;  Gulf  Publishing, 
Houston,  TX;  1461  pp.  +  xxvi  - 
$195.00. 

Port  Engineering,  Volume  2: 
Harbor  Transportation,  Fishing 
Ports,  Sediment  Transport, 
Geomorphology,  Inlets,  and 
Dredging,  by  Per  Bruun;  1990;  Gulf 
Publishing  Company,  Houston, 
TX;  1146  pp. -$145.00. 


State  of  the  World  1990,  edited  by 
Linda  Starke;  1990;  W.W.  Norton  & 
Company,  New  York,  NY;  253  pp.  H 
xvi  -  $28.95. 

•Traveler's  Guide  to  the  Galapagos 
Islands,  by  Barry  Boyce;  1990; 
Galapagos  Travel,  San  Jose,  CA;  22/ 
pp  +  vi;  $14.25. 

Turbulent  Mirror:  An  Illustrated 
Guide  to  Chaos  Theory  and  the 
Science  of  Wholeness,  by  John 
Briggs  and  E.F.  David  Peat;  1989; 
Harper  &  Row  Publishers,  New 
York,  NY;  203  pp.  +  x  -  $12.95. 


WATER  BABY 

THE  STORY  OF  ALVIN 


"A  marvelous  job... 

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in  Water  Baby,  Victoria  Kaharl  provides 
a  riveting  history  of  ocean  research  at 
its  forefront,  with  warts-and-all  portraits 
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SHIPS  AND  SAILING 


China  Tea  Clippers,  by  George 
Campbell;  1990;  International 
Marine  Publishing,  Camden, 
ME;  156  pp. -$24.95. 

Northeast  Lights:  Lighthouses  and 
Lightships,  by  Robert  G.  Bachand; 
1989;  Sea  Sports  Publications, 
Norwalk,  CT;  422  pp.  +  xii  -  $19.95. 

Passage  Making  Handbook:  A 
Guide  for  Delivery  Skipper  and 
Boat  Owners,  by  John  Rains  and 
Patricia  Miler;  1989;  Seven  Seas 
Press,  Camden,  ME;  296  pp.  +  xvi  - 
$27.50. 


80 


MBL  WHOI   LIBRARY 


•  ••••••        ||      I   ||         I  III      l| 

WH    IflBb    0 


OCEAN 


Ocean  Challenge  is  a  new  magazine 
published  for  the  Challenger  Society  by 
Science  Reviews,  Ltd.  publishers  to  the 
Royal  Institution  of  London.  It  has  been 
developed  to  give  a  wide  readership  access 
to  material  currently  only  appearing  in 
specialist  research  publications. 

Features  planned  for  upcoming  issues  of  the 

magazine  include: 

Estuaries:  the  sensitive  fringe  of  the  ocean 

by  Keith  Dyer 
Oceanography  on  Stamps 

by  Tony  Rice  &  Arthur  Fisher 
Modelling  tides  for  the  1 988  Olympics 

by  Roger  Proctor  &  Judith  Wolf 
What  is  oceanography? 

by  Steve  Thorpe 
The  North  Sea  seal  epidemic 

by  John  Harwood 

Ocean  Challenge  expands  public  awareness 
of  marine  science  and  assists  cross-disciplin- 
ary fertilization  within  the  science.  This 
magazine  is  for  everyone  involved  in  marine 
science  and  its  support,  including  students, 
and  appeals  to  all  who  are  interested  in 
preserving  the  marine  environment. 

Please  enter  my  subscription  to  Ocean  Challenge  (4 
issues) .  The  subscription  rate  is  £70  (UK)/$140  (US  and 
other) .   Personal  subscription  rate  is  £30/$60  (US  and 
others) . 


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OC  :AN 


Ocean  Challenge  contains  general  interest 
feature  articles  on  all  aspects  of  oceanogra- 
phy -  from  marine  biology  to  mathematical 
modelling,  and  from  polar  research  to  El 
Nino.  In  addition  the  journal  publishes 
news  of  recent  and  forthcoming  events, 
reports  of  research  programs  and  cruises, 
commentaries,  correspondence,  book 
reviews  and  guest  editorials.  Articles  are 
well  illustrates  and  the  style  is  easily 
accessible. 

EXECUTIVE  EDITOR 

Angela  Colling,  Department  of  Earth  Science,  Open 

University,  Milton  Keynes 
ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

John  Wright,  Department  of  Earth  Sciences,  Open 

University,  Milton  Keynes 
EDITORIAL  BOARD 

Martin  Angel,  1OS  Deacon  Laboratory,  Godalming, 

Surrey 

Keith  Dyer,  Polytechnic  Southwest,  Plymouth 
Peter  Foxton,  Marlborough,  Wiltshire 
Tim  Francis,  Tim  Francis  Associates,  Guilford, 

Surrey 
Edward  Hill,  Marine  Science  Laboratories,  Menai 

Bridge,  Gwynedd 
Bill  Prior-Jones,  Metocean  Consultancy  Ltd, 

Haslemere,  Surrey 


MARINE  AND 

ENVIRONMENTAL  SCIENCE 
AND  ENGINEERING 


^  he  Florida  Institute  of 
Technology  is  located  on 

b    Florida's  Space  Coast,  40  miles 
south  of  Kennedy  Space  Center.  F.IX 
is  surrounded  by  a  unique  coastal 
environment.  Within  easy  bicycling 
distance  students  can  reach  the  beaches 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  estuaries  and 
marine  wetlands,  and  any  number  of 
lakes  and  artificial  canals. 

Students  can  also  catch  a  boat  bound 
for  the  Gulf  Stream  at  F.IX's  anchorage. 


F.IX  supports  student  research. 
Through  faculty  sponsored  research, 
F.IX  students  use  state-of-the-art 
technical  equipment  and  vessels. 


MAJOR  PROGRAM  INTERESTS: 

Biological  Oceanography 

Corrosion  and  Biofoulmg 

Environmental  Information  and  Synthesis 

Freshwater/Lake  Chemistry 

Geological  and  Physical  Oceanography 

Global  Environmental  Processes 

Hydrodynamics  and  Naval  Architecture 

Marine  and  Environmental  Chemistry 

Marine  Composite  Materials 

Marine  Education 

Marine  Fisheries 

Marine  Waste  Management 

Ocean  Policy  and  Management 

Pollution  Processes  and  Toxicology 

Waste  Utilization  and  Management 

Wetlands  Systems 

THE  DISCIPLINES: 

Coastal  Processes  and  Engineering 

Coastal  Zone  Management 

Environmental  Science  and  Engineering 

Marine  Vehicles 

Ocean  Engineering 

Ocean  Systems 

Oceanography 


For  more  information  about  degree  programs  in  Marine  and  Environmental  Science  and  Engineering, 

including  financial  support  and  tuition  remission,  contact: 
Dr.  N.  Thomas  Stephens,  Head,  Department  of  Oceanography  and  Ocean  Engineering 

.§  Florida  Institute  of  Technology 


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